The World
Europe has split itself into factions and is ready to explode into war at any moment.
- Britain is the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world, it has generated massive wealth from its colonies in India and the Far East. It owns the islands of Cyprus and Malta in the Mediterranean and uses them as the headquarters for its powerful Navy as well as its Air Force.
- Germany has not been an empire for long and is keen to prove itself. It has begun expansion into Africa from the Arabian Sea from ports loaned to them by their close allies, the Ottoman Empire who, along with Austria-Hungary, has also allowed them to use ports on the Mediterranean Sea to establish an air and sea presence in the area. It views Britain as its biggest rival and has begun gathering allies against Britain.
- France’s power has diminished in the last few decades as a number of uprisings in their prized Far Eastern colonies have left them with reduced wealth. They still maintain a heavy presence in the Mediterranean Sea with both its Navy and Air Force and they intend to focus on protecting their slave trade to bolster their economy and remain a superpower.
- Russia, although not having a coast on the Mediterranean Sea, has established a presence there thanks to their alliance with France, they have been given access and partial control of French ports and they have been allowed to build Navy and Air Force bases on Corsica. Due to internal troubles they have been working hard to create a power base in the Mediterranean to bolster their wealth and save their failing economy which has been the main source of discontent among the Russian people.
- Spain is a shell of its former glory, they went through a violent civil war that saw the end of the Spanish monarchy who, along with the rest of the aristocracy are in exile, mostly in Britain. During the civil war most of the Spanish colonies in South America rose up to gain their independence, now that the war is over and Spain is a republic they have formally recognised the former colonies as independent nations and organised votes in the remaining colonies on whether they wished to remain a part of Spain, Cuba is now their only remaining South American territory. Spain have also allowed Morocco their independence as they no longer take part in the slave trade and have in fact outlawed the practice in Spanish lands. Their Navy is largely outdated and their Air Force are not as well trained or as well equipped as other countries’ but it still has a presence in the area.
- Portugal has prospered as their Spanish neighbours have declined. When Spain lost control of their colonies in South America Portugal stepped in to take control of land surrounding Brazil, which operates as a puppet state to Portugal, and now holds most of the eastern coast of South America which has brought them a massive increase in resources and wealth. This has resulted in them becoming a super power and having a large and efficient Navy and Air Force as well as a stake in the slave trade.
- Austria-Hungary has a close affinity with their German neighbours and has allied with them closely. Their power has been reduced as they conducted an extended war in South America against Portugal over Spain’s lost colonies. The war was an absolute failure and has dealt the Austro-Hungarian economy a harsh blow. Germany has helped Austria-Hungary stay afloat financially in return for use of some of Austria-Hungary’s sea ports and air fields.
- The Ottoman Empire is largely backwards and old-fashioned in its ideas and view on the rest of the world. It is engaged in a minor war against Persia in an attempt to capture more land and resources to try and restore their economy which has been declining for many years. They receive monetary and military aid from Germany and due to this have become a close ally with them.
- Greece is allied with Britain and has been able to stave off Ottoman conquest by help from them alone. Britain maintains a large military force in Greece to guarantee its independence. The Greek armed forces have been largely equipped and trained by Britain and as such they are a fairly modern, if a bit small, fighting force. Their presence in the Mediterranean is mostly working in tandem with Britain as well as defending their coast line from piracy.
- Bulgaria and Rumania, united in their hatred of Russia who had recently tried to demand land from both countries have allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary who both threatened war on Russia if they continued in their demands. They have agreed to begin moving their navies into the Mediterranean to reinforce German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish operations.
- Italy is under heavy pressure from both Germany and Britain to join their alliances. Their strategic position right in the heart of the Mediterranean makes them an attractive ally to both sides; however they do not wish to enter themselves into potential conflict and are doing their best to remain neutral. They have a fairly strong Navy and Air Force presence in the Mediterranean and have been trying to act as a sort of international police force in the area as due to the current tensions piracy has been able to run rampant.
- Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland are all remaining neutral however they are more sympathetic towards Britain and its allies than Germany.
- Britain is the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world, it has generated massive wealth from its colonies in India and the Far East. It owns the islands of Cyprus and Malta in the Mediterranean and uses them as the headquarters for its powerful Navy as well as its Air Force.
- Germany has not been an empire for long and is keen to prove itself. It has begun expansion into Africa from the Arabian Sea from ports loaned to them by their close allies, the Ottoman Empire who, along with Austria-Hungary, has also allowed them to use ports on the Mediterranean Sea to establish an air and sea presence in the area. It views Britain as its biggest rival and has begun gathering allies against Britain.
- France’s power has diminished in the last few decades as a number of uprisings in their prized Far Eastern colonies have left them with reduced wealth. They still maintain a heavy presence in the Mediterranean Sea with both its Navy and Air Force and they intend to focus on protecting their slave trade to bolster their economy and remain a superpower.
- Russia, although not having a coast on the Mediterranean Sea, has established a presence there thanks to their alliance with France, they have been given access and partial control of French ports and they have been allowed to build Navy and Air Force bases on Corsica. Due to internal troubles they have been working hard to create a power base in the Mediterranean to bolster their wealth and save their failing economy which has been the main source of discontent among the Russian people.
- Spain is a shell of its former glory, they went through a violent civil war that saw the end of the Spanish monarchy who, along with the rest of the aristocracy are in exile, mostly in Britain. During the civil war most of the Spanish colonies in South America rose up to gain their independence, now that the war is over and Spain is a republic they have formally recognised the former colonies as independent nations and organised votes in the remaining colonies on whether they wished to remain a part of Spain, Cuba is now their only remaining South American territory. Spain have also allowed Morocco their independence as they no longer take part in the slave trade and have in fact outlawed the practice in Spanish lands. Their Navy is largely outdated and their Air Force are not as well trained or as well equipped as other countries’ but it still has a presence in the area.
- Portugal has prospered as their Spanish neighbours have declined. When Spain lost control of their colonies in South America Portugal stepped in to take control of land surrounding Brazil, which operates as a puppet state to Portugal, and now holds most of the eastern coast of South America which has brought them a massive increase in resources and wealth. This has resulted in them becoming a super power and having a large and efficient Navy and Air Force as well as a stake in the slave trade.
- Austria-Hungary has a close affinity with their German neighbours and has allied with them closely. Their power has been reduced as they conducted an extended war in South America against Portugal over Spain’s lost colonies. The war was an absolute failure and has dealt the Austro-Hungarian economy a harsh blow. Germany has helped Austria-Hungary stay afloat financially in return for use of some of Austria-Hungary’s sea ports and air fields.
- The Ottoman Empire is largely backwards and old-fashioned in its ideas and view on the rest of the world. It is engaged in a minor war against Persia in an attempt to capture more land and resources to try and restore their economy which has been declining for many years. They receive monetary and military aid from Germany and due to this have become a close ally with them.
- Greece is allied with Britain and has been able to stave off Ottoman conquest by help from them alone. Britain maintains a large military force in Greece to guarantee its independence. The Greek armed forces have been largely equipped and trained by Britain and as such they are a fairly modern, if a bit small, fighting force. Their presence in the Mediterranean is mostly working in tandem with Britain as well as defending their coast line from piracy.
- Bulgaria and Rumania, united in their hatred of Russia who had recently tried to demand land from both countries have allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary who both threatened war on Russia if they continued in their demands. They have agreed to begin moving their navies into the Mediterranean to reinforce German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish operations.
- Italy is under heavy pressure from both Germany and Britain to join their alliances. Their strategic position right in the heart of the Mediterranean makes them an attractive ally to both sides; however they do not wish to enter themselves into potential conflict and are doing their best to remain neutral. They have a fairly strong Navy and Air Force presence in the Mediterranean and have been trying to act as a sort of international police force in the area as due to the current tensions piracy has been able to run rampant.
- Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland are all remaining neutral however they are more sympathetic towards Britain and its allies than Germany.
North Africa is made up of puppet states used primarily for securing slaves from central Africa; they are referred to as “Slaver States.” Due to the development of these the Scramble for Africa has not occurred as resources and slaves are extracted by the Slaver States so there is no incentive to establish permanent colonies.
- Algeria is France's slaver state and is famous for exploring further into the untamed African wilderness than any other Slaver State. They have encouraged fierce competition with other Slaver States who all want to delve further and further into Africa.
- Tunisia is owned by Portugal and is less ambitious than other Slaver States as Portugal doesn't rely as heavily on its slaves for income due to its large income from its South American colonies.
- Libya is owned by Italy and is the leading Slaver State in terms of sheer volume of slaves it acquires. In order to remain completely neutral it sells its slaves to both Germany and Britain's alliance. Their slave ships are the most common on the Mediterranean.
- Morocco is an independent slaver state since its independence from Spain and continues its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their economy is entirely dependent on the slave trade and they have modelled the government and armed forces around maintaining and protecting their slaving operations.
- Egypt is owned by Britain and has the most advanced technology devoted to the capture of slaves. They often use large dirigibles with net guns to snare tribesmen from the jungles of central Africa.
- The Germans have started a fledgling Slaver State in Somaliland in Eastern Africa, it is at this stage not much more than a fortress and a fortified harbour with a medium sized slaver force.
- Central to South Africa is largely unexplored and has no official European colonies or settlements as most countries have been focusing their colonial expansion on Asia and South America. It is mostly inhabited by tribesmen and wild animals. It is considered extremely dangerous to venture into these lands without being well armed and in a large group and even then usually only slavers venture very far south on the continent.
- Algeria is France's slaver state and is famous for exploring further into the untamed African wilderness than any other Slaver State. They have encouraged fierce competition with other Slaver States who all want to delve further and further into Africa.
- Tunisia is owned by Portugal and is less ambitious than other Slaver States as Portugal doesn't rely as heavily on its slaves for income due to its large income from its South American colonies.
- Libya is owned by Italy and is the leading Slaver State in terms of sheer volume of slaves it acquires. In order to remain completely neutral it sells its slaves to both Germany and Britain's alliance. Their slave ships are the most common on the Mediterranean.
- Morocco is an independent slaver state since its independence from Spain and continues its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their economy is entirely dependent on the slave trade and they have modelled the government and armed forces around maintaining and protecting their slaving operations.
- Egypt is owned by Britain and has the most advanced technology devoted to the capture of slaves. They often use large dirigibles with net guns to snare tribesmen from the jungles of central Africa.
- The Germans have started a fledgling Slaver State in Somaliland in Eastern Africa, it is at this stage not much more than a fortress and a fortified harbour with a medium sized slaver force.
- Central to South Africa is largely unexplored and has no official European colonies or settlements as most countries have been focusing their colonial expansion on Asia and South America. It is mostly inhabited by tribesmen and wild animals. It is considered extremely dangerous to venture into these lands without being well armed and in a large group and even then usually only slavers venture very far south on the continent.
- The United States of America has adopted, for a number of years, a policy of total isolationism from the rest of the world. They have closed their border to all immigration and are very strict on any trade ships that arrive on their shores; crews are not allowed to leave their ships when docked on their shores and American crews don't leave their ships while docked abroad. They are fairly particular about whom they trade with and their main trading partners are Britain and Portugal due to their proximity, with Portugal owning large parts of South America and Britain owning Canada.
- Mexico and the United States of Central America are both poor nations that rely heavily on trade with European powers. They are both currently embroiled in internal conflicts which keep them out of regional politics.
- The newly independent nations of Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina have all gained recognition from the European powers and are beginning to establish themselves on the global stage. Bolivia and Argentina have continued the institution of slavery and have set up slaver forces in order to capture indigenous peoples in their lands.
Technology
The technology of the world isn’t much different from the 1920 of reality. Weaponry is typically bolt action rifles and revolvers/hand guns for foot soldiers. Machine guns are used on planes and zeppelins, some larger zeppelins may have anti-aircraft flak cannons. Most ships have anti-aircraft weaponry in order to protect them from piracy. Planes are all bi-winged or occasionally tri-winged and the development of monoplanes is still in its infancy with only a few prototypes existing. Most planes found in the Mediterranean area have large floats attached to allow them to land on water as well as land, these are especially popular among pirates as well as naval air forces. Large flying ships with three banks of tri-wings are used by Italy as passenger liners and travel between South America and Europe, transporting the rich on luxury trips.
Zeppelins are used both by militaries and civilian bodies. Militaries often use them as escorts for convoys as due to their large size the can be equipped with heavier weaponry and can also carry small fighter planes attached to them which can provide a quick defence force in case of attack. They are also used as civilian transports, in a similar fashion to the Italian air liners and are a common sight above Europe.
The Wolves of the Mediterranean
The Wolves of the Mediterranean were a gang of pirates who operated 8 years prior to the beginning of the story. They recruited the best fighter aces in Europe at the time and launched several raids and heists during their 3 year existence. They were founded by Wolfgang Gotz and Arturo Vargas; who had recently returned to Europe having volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian air force during their war in South America. They had both gained reputations as being excellent fighter pilots and after the war they found themselves with no skills except piloting and so they turned said skills to piracy. Wolfgang Gotz had been taken prisoner by the Portuguese armed forces, and had been sold into slavery. He was freed by Arturo Vargas from the gold mine where he had been put to work, the experience gave him a deep hatred and resentment for the institution of slavery as well as the governments who carried it out. Part of the reason the Wolves had become so famous was the practice of raiding slave ships and freeing the slaves on board.
The Wolves were considered by most of the European powers as criminals and were actively hunted by militaries and bounty hunters alike. The gang operated for 3 years and caused so much financial damage that Italy called all the European leaders together to a summit in which it was decided that a task force would be set up to hunt and destroy the Wolves once and for all. This task force was made up of international pilots who operated under the Italian Air Force. Although this made their lives harder, the Wolves survived for another year before deciding to go their separate ways, retire and change their identities, all of them had made enough money to live comfortably wherever they chose. They were hunted for another 2 years before the Italian government disbanded the task force they had set up to find them and it was largely accepted that the Wolves of the Mediterranean were no more. They are still wanted criminals but there is no active operation to locate and arrest them as in the wake of their disbandment other pirate gangs stepped in to take their place.
Our Characters
My character will be Wolfgang Gotz, one of the founding members of the Wolves of the Mediterranean. He will have been living peacefully until his family are killed and he turns back to a life of piracy to get revenge on the men who killed them. Your characters will either be previous members of the Wolves, remember it has been 8 years since they disbanded so they would be in their early 30s or at least their late 20s, or else they will be notable pilots who my character accepts into the group. There would have to be a reason that my character accepts new people so they would have to have some kind of specialist skill that makes them stand out from all the other pirates. The other founding member of the Wolves, Arturo Vargas will be the antagonist of this story, he’s joined the Italian Air Force and is in charge of an anti-piracy air squad using his knowledge of pirate tactics and safe havens to devastating effect.
Name:
Nickname: (If any)
Age:
Gender:
Nationality:
Appearance: (Picture or description)
Skills: (Things that make you stand out).
Traits and Quirks: (Bad And Good of each)
History:
Other: (Anything else you want to add)
Name: Wolfgang Gotz
Nickname: The Wild Wind
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Nationality: Austrian
Appearance:
Wolfgang has various scars and burns on his body, the most notable being those on his back from being flogged when he was working in the gold mines in South America.
Skills: Wolfgang is an exceptional pilot, he has an aggressive style based around charging and then out manoeuvring his opponents. He is decent in hand to hand combat and has been trained in the use of small arms. He can speak English, Italian, Serbian, basic Spanish as well as his native tongue German.
Traits and Quirks: Wolfgang detests slavery and will do anything he can to prevent it, he has almost died on a number of occasions when attacking slaver forces. He is a charismatic leader however he can sometimes let his passions take over rather than being cold and rational. Wolfgang likes to smoke cigars, he picked the habit up in South America where they were plentiful and it stuck with him since then.
History: Wolfgang Gotz was born in Vienna into complete poverty, his mother lived in a slum and he never knew his father. He had several brothers and sisters growing up and food was scarce so he was constantly in competition. From a young age he learned to steal and was often on the wrong side of the law, he spent much of his early teens as a pickpocket and burglar. By his mid-teens he was totally independent of his family and had learned to look after himself, he was part of small gangs of ruffians and thugs until he was caught trying to mug a rich woman and was arrested. He was given the option upon entering prison of serving out his sentence there or joining the Austro-Hungarian army. The government was enlarging the army as they had begun plans to move in and capture territories in South America that were revolting after the collapse of the Spanish monarchy. Wolfgang decided to take his chances in the army and signed up, he was trained and put into service as the war started.
Fighting in the jungles and mountains of South America was hellish for both sides during the war between Portugal and Austria-Hungary. Wolfgang fought in many of the fiercest battles of the war until he fell ill with malaria, he was bed ridden for some time before he was able to regain his strength. During this time he became aware that the Austro-Hungarian air force had taken heavy losses and had begun recruiting and training out with the Austrian upper class which had made up most of their pilots at the war’s beginning. As soon as Wolfgang was able he signed up and was trained as a pilot, among those who were training with him was Arturo Vargas. Arturo Vargas was part of an aristocratic Spanish family who had fled in exile after the collapse of the monarchy. He had lived in Britain and then moved around Europe, before traveling to South America for adventure.
Wolfgang and Arturo became friendly rivals and would always try to outdo each other when flying, they both had a natural talent when it came to flying and were put into a squadron together. Between them they both accounted for massive losses in the Portuguese air force, they were quickly considered aces however Arturo captured the imagination of the Austrian press. Arturo had natural silver hair which, along with his aristocratic birth, earned him the nickname “The Silver Prince” and he became a celebrity in the war press. Wolfgang also gained some recognition, the press called him “The Wild Wind” and often wrote about him in tandem with Arturo, some preferred Wolfgang as he was a native Austrian but Arturo was by far the more popular of the two. Wolfgang didn’t care for the attention he was receiving from Austrian high society whereas Arturo loved it, despite this they remained close friends throughout the war.
During a mission Wolfgang was shot down by a barrage of anti-aircraft guns that the Portuguese army had concealed in the jungle. He crashed and was captured by them; he was taken to a prisoner of war camp while he recovered from his injuries at which point he was sold to a Brazilian mining operation and sent to work in a gold mine. Wolfgang was there for several months and toiled in the treacherous conditions of the mine, he had almost given up hope when Arturo and his squadron led a daring mission to free him. He escaped with his life and regained his freedom, this experience left a deep impression on Wolfgang the treatment he had received and that which he saw dispensed on his fellow slaves gave him a hatred for slavery that would stay with him.
Eventually it became clear that Austria-Hungary was not going to be able to maintain their war, they signed an unfavourable treaty with Portugal and removed all their armed forces from South America. Their economy was ruined and they demobilised most of their military. Wolfgang and Arturo were left without jobs upon returning to Europe. They both moved to Italy and began working there in order to gain enough money to buy planes for themselves, they eventually did so and initially began selling their services to shipping companies as convoy guards. This came to an end when during a job Wolfgang realised that the ship they were escorting was transporting slaves, he freed the slaves on board and led them against the ship’s crew. They took over the ship and sailed to the Republic of Spain, where slavery had been outlawed, and with help from sympathetic Spanish officials he had them transported to wherever they wanted to go. This act of mutiny turned Wolfgang into a criminal and because Arturo had gone along with him he was too.
Wolfgang convinced Arturo to form a gang of pirates who would raid the shipping lanes used by the slave trade between North Africa and Europe. They gathered the best outlaw flying aces in Europe at the time and began their career as pirates. The international press named them as “The Wolves of the Mediterranean” and often wrote about how they were desecrating the noble institution of slavery. Wolfgang had an idealised view of what they were doing, seeing them as liberators, most of the other members of the Wolves had different motivations but they all saw the profit in their work together. The wealth they looted from trade ships made them all very wealthy during their 3 year career. The pressure from the European powers increased to the point where most of the ships they were raiding were escorted by warships and air force squadrons. They began losing members as people died or left to pursue their own goals, eventually the remaining members agreed it was time to retire. They all took their share of the spoils of their adventures and parted ways, changing their identities and agreeing never to see each other again. Wolfgang and Arturo regretted having to part ways after so many years working together but they both knew it was for the best.
Wolfgang put his plane into storage and moved to Montenegro and lived in a small house by the coast, he changed his name to Conrad Herzog. He married an Italian woman named Iliana and had a son, Artur who he gave the Germanic version of his friend Arturo’s name. He lived happily with his family for 7 years until his house was attacked in the night by an anti-piracy team who had gained information about him from one of his former colleagues. Wolfgang fought back and sent his wife and son through a tunnel he had built in his basement that came out along the coast. When Wolfgang escaped the men who had attacked him he went to find his family and found that they had been killed. He swore revenge, he got his plane out of storage and put out a call through his contacts in the pirate world, he was reforming the Wolves of the Mediterranean.
Name: Madelief De Kreisz
Nickname: Madelief has been, and is, known by many names throughout Europe.
Her family and the Wolves refer to her as Madelief, Maddie, Liefie, Leilei or, after a particularly insane stunt, just 'Mad'.
As an acrobat in the circus, she was known as 'Petit Oiseau Blanc', french for 'Little White Bird', given her age and, by extention her size as well as her general palour.
Fans of her death defying aerial show would know her as little more than 'The Flying Dutchwoman', as said the posters.
And finally, she became notorious under the moniker of 'The Sky Witch' to anyone who knew of the Wolves.
Age: Twenty Nine
Gender: Female
Nationality: Netherlander
Appearance: Madelief is tall, lithe and statuesque with a slender but incredibly toned physique owing to her lifetime of physical pursuits.
She has long dancer's legs leading down to a pair of feet that bear several thin streaks of whitened skin, scars left from dancing en pointe in her younger days.
She is typically aryan with a pale complexion, icey blue eyes filled with a childish exuberance and an extremely full mass of wavy, light blonde hair that falls well past her shoulders and is very rarely seen in any style other than loosely flowing down her back.
Her face is distinctly germanic with a slight but square jaw, hollow cheeks and high, prominent cheek bones tapering down to a sharp chin. Her pale blonde eyebrows appear almost non existant from any distance other than face to face and her dainty little button nose sits above full lips.
Her arms are long and thin but not boney, acquiring noticeable tone in their use in her acrobatic activities and her hands are well suited for her more recently acquired hobby of playing the piano, with long, slender fingers which regularly go unadorned by jewellery, as does her swan-like neck.
Madelief bears a thin, arching scar approximately six inches long running over her left hip, received when enemy fire dislodged shrapnel from her aircraft and wind pressure sent it flying through her like a blade. Barely visible against the pale white of her skin is a small white burn mark below her left eye from a hot shell casing that flew from her gun and the back of her right wrist bears a crescent shaped scar from a knife accident that occurred during her time in the circus.
Skills: Acrobatics, ballet, flying trapeze and wingwalking.
Is a crack shot with a rifle but apparently only when balancing on an aeroplane, can't hit the broad side of a barn on solid ground.
Moderate knowledge of nursing including things like first aide and recognition of certain illnesses etc.
Decent grasp of several languages, including english.
Can play piano and read sheet music.
A fair shot with a throwing knife.
Traits and Quirks: Madelief's defining trait seems to be her near psychotic lust for adrenaline and lack of self preservation. She lives almost entirely for fun and adventure and, as long as she has those, she is happy. This causes Madelief to be brash and impulsive which leads to trouble when working in a team in the high pressure situations in which the Wolves often find themselves. However, she is also practically fearless when it comes to these dangerous endeavours and maintains a calm sense of focus, rarely rattled or caught offguard in the air.
Given her relative lack of schooling past about thirteen years of age, Madelief is rather book dumb and this can make her seem foolish at times. Regardless, she is an intelligent woman and world experience coupled with an independent lifestyle replaced schooling to give her a broad knowledge base and left her anything but niave in the way the world works.
Having been involved in careers with an emphasis on showmanship and performing, Madelief is a cool and confident woman who exudes a sexuality rather out of touch with her relatively lacking experience, with, or interest in, romance.
History: Madelief's life started simple, but big dreams led her to big places, and then right back down again.
The daughter of a nurse and a fisherman, two incomes led to a stable and secure life in which all worked hard and were rewarded with a warm home, good food and wanted for little.
Madelief spent most of her younger days exploring all around her rural home just outside of Den Helder in the northern Netherlands. She was a girly girl, it was true, but things such as hair styling and playing with dolls fell by the wayside when it came to chances for a little whimsical adventure and of all of the childhood adventures that were to be had, Madelief's favorite was climbing.
First it was things like cupboards and desks when she was just learning to walk. Then stair banisters and windowsills and then finally walls, trees and the roof of the family home. It was wild adventure and good times, but every childhood has to come to an end.
Madelief and her brother, Alfons, were practically shoehorned in to the respective professions of their parents, it was just more or less expected, but, as Madelief progressed from the joyous freedom of childhood to the dull bore of schooling, it was her father who recognised in her a similar spark to one he had once had.
A composer and musician at heart, her father had always dreamed of making a living from his music and would play regularly for her on an old piano he kept in the shed. Madelief, bursting with suppressed energy would dance along joyously and her father decided to foster her talent and not let it be crushed under the weight of expectation, as his had.
Immediately, he begun scrounging together a few guilders from every fish he sold and took her to see a ballet performance in Amsterdam.
Madelief was starstruck and looked on in awe as the dancers performed their balletic feats and, despite protests from her mother, who argued the viability of the cost, was enrolled in a ballet class within the week.
For years, Madelief practiced hard and practically lived for the art of ballet, finding much of the rest of her slowly maturing life to be a bore. She knew even then that she was expected to finish school, begin studies for nursing and eventually become exactly like her mother, a prospect she hated. Even the structure of her ballet lessons became too rigid for her, too controlling and suffocating. Madelief didn't know what kind of life she wanted, but it wasn't this life.
It was by chance that she had been skipping home from school one day to be passed a flyer for a travelling circus that had come to town and was taken to see the show two days later. It was during this performance, staring up at the flying trapeze that she felt a fire in her stomach that she hadn't felt since that day at the ballet. Why, these acrobats were just doing what she did in her spare time! What was keeping her from doing the same?
For the entire ride home, Madelief begged to quit boring old ballet and switch to the even more explosive and adrenaline filled pursuit of acrobatics and the flying trapeze! What better place to live a life than way up there in the sky?
Remembering how his wife had resisted the ballet lessons and believing her wish to become an acrobat to be nothing more than a childish whim, Madelief's father staunchly refused and insisted she perservere with her ballet training. It was only after she concussed herself attempting stunts off a self-made ropeswing in the back yard that Madelief's parents decided it would be better for her to learn with instruction rather than kill herself in the attempt. After all, Madelief had a strong will and would not be dissuaded.
Unfortunately, acrobatics was a rather niche skill and did not have a school on every corner and the family found it difficult to find a teacher for Madelief even in nearby Den Helder.
At this time, Madelief's father suffered an unfortunate accident while out fishing, a hook slicing open his arm and, while the injury itself was bad enough, the true suffering came with the infection that followed and the sicknesses that attacked his weakened immune system in the infection's wake.
With the father unable to work, times became financially hard for the Van Kreisz family and, fearing her father would die without her help, Madelief literally ran away from home and joined the circus. Being young and athletic with the good base skills of balance and flexibility provided by her ballet training as well as apparent fearlessness regarding heights, Madelief was accepted by the circus.
Her first job, however, was not as a trapeze artist. She would receive training in that area, but her primary duties involved cleaning animal stalls and other menial tasks, tasks which she hated given her surprisingly dainty feminine traits. The pay at first was meagre, but given that the circus also provided her with food and board, she was able to send one hundred percent of it back to her family and she also made a few extra dollars in a knife throwing game that the performers liked to play, she became quite skilled at it.
The money she sent home, coupled with some considerable financial aide from Madelief's uncle on her mother's side, Diederik , meant that Madelief's brother, Alfons was able to continue going to school and her mother was able to stay at home and provide her full nursing attention to her father.
Madelief continued for much of her teen years in this way, living a life of danger and adventure and sending all proceeds home to her sick father but eventually, she began to feel that familiar feeling of stagnant boredom and the restlessness that came with it.
Seeking a new challenge, Madelief found it a few months later at an airshow during which two daring pilots went up in an aeroplane and left the cockpits, performing a series of balancing acts right out there on the wings. Madelief's eyes gleamed with delight, her abundant energy and obsession with heights and adrenaline had evolved from climbing trees to dancing ballet to the flying trapeze and now she was ready to take on this new frontier, aeronaughtics.
She approached the pilots after the show and was promptly laughed out of the hangar. A female pilot? Was she serious?
However, once out of earshot of his colleague, one of the pilots, Edvard Hoss caught up with her and made her an offer. Maybe piloting was out of her league but she was a beautiful young woman with considerable talents in acrobatics and experience in showmanship, the pilot believed they could make a fortune with him flying and her performing and, willing to do whatever it took to become a wing walker, Madelief agreed to his terms.
Madelief and Edvard hit the road, performing at airshows all over Europe. They were a huge hit and people began to talk of the ace pilot and the stunning blonde woman who performed acrobatics in the sky. Travelling far and wide, Madelief learned much and absorbed many different cultures and languages, becoming quite the linguist and broadening her mind farther than she had ever dreamed.
Things were wonderful for Madelief, but back home, her father was hanging on to life by a thread and Madelief's uncle had suddenly and without explanation cut all ties with the Kriesz family, including financial support. Try as she may, Madelief's mother could not even contact Diederik, let alone get an explanation out of him regarding the reasons for his sudden withdrawal from their lives and times became hard once again.
Alfons had now graduated and was working as a fisherman, despite his other talents, and, while a wonderful job, the entertnainment business was not earning Madelief enough to support the increasing needs of her family. This, coupled with Edvard's general mistreatment of her and the breaking of a promise he had made to teach her to fly was why, when approached by the Wolves of the Mediteranean for her act in which she performed target shooting from atop the wings of Edvards plane, Madelief accepted.
She was young when she was recruited and could not even fly a plane, but Madelief acted as a gunner in tandem with another pilot, using the rear machine gun and, when it came to boarding zeppelins and airships, Madelief, to the amusement and/or horror of the rest of the crew, would balance on the wings and snipe targets, throw grenades and perform all manner of ludicrous, death defying tasks. She was in heaven.
Eventually, she acquired her own plane by literally jumping wing to wing and killing its former pilot. That particular stunt caused a full retreat of the remaining enemy fighters and began the first stirrings of what she would later be known as, the Sky Witch.
Wolfgang Gotz, the leader of the Wolves decided that her outrageous stunt had earned her the right to keep her prize and she was taught to fly it under the mentorship of a man named Frederik Ole Erik. Also known as 'Erik the Red', Madelief had taken an instant shine to the Swedish fellow when he joined the Wolves and he had responded by remaining vigilant and patient through all of her near misses and painful accidents, gradually transforming her into a pilot worthy of being counted among the aces of the Wolves of the Mediterranean.
Her life was even more exciting than ever and the money she was making allowed her mother to continue looking after her father, her brother to pursue a career more compatible with his own preferences and her whole family to stay afloat. She just told them she was an entrepreneur.
Eventually, though, even this grand time had to end.
Things got too heated, the group disbanded and Madelief fell into loneliness and depression. Upon returning home, she found her father had died. Her whole life had become about supporting him financially, but she hadn't seen him since she had left for the circus, barely even a teenager.
Her brother had moved away from the family home and was attending university in Amsterdam and she was left at home with her mother who had come to respect her for what she had done for the family but there was a certain tenseness between them that never went away.
Living comfortably on her share of the Wolves' loot, Madelief did little but mill around her home for three years. She made a hobby of playing her father's piano for hours on end, learning the music he wrote from scratch, note by note and her plane slowly rusted away in her father's boat shed. That was, at least, until she got the call.
The call to come back to the Wolves knocked her out of her depressive stupor and she immediately sent back a positive response, used a large portion of her remaining funds to re-furbish her aircraft and tightened up her skills before heading off to meet with her old gang with more brightness and joy in her expression than had existed there in the last eight years.
Other: Always carries her father's old fish knife with her and uses it as a weapon.
Name: Fredrik Ole Erik
Nickname: Erik the Red
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Nationality: Swedish
Appearance:
Skills: Fredrik is Special Forces born and bred. He is an expert at hand to hand combat and a crack shot when on solid ground, though in the air he is far from a sniper. He also has worked with explosives in the past and is a great pilot, though still not in the same league as Wolfgang. He is especially adept at hijackings. He also speaks Swedish and good, but not fluent, German.
Traits and Quirks: Fredrik has always been a father figure. He enjoys the feeling of taking somebody under his wing despite his intimidating exterior. He treats every mission with a cold and clinical nature though during incredibly one sided fights he will sometimes lose himself in what he calls his ‘berserk’ moments. He enjoys his beer and food and during their time apart it has taken its toll on his physique, however he has been working on it and is still just as dangerous.
History:
Fredrik was born into a world of pain and suffering. His mother was a whore on the streets of Stockholm and tried to raise him as best she could. Although he suffered, he was ill almost all of the time up until he was about 7. During this incredibly sickly period his mother also begun to fall more ill and by the time he was becoming stronger she had fallen so ill that he had to take care of her. He begun life stealing and pickpocketing from the markets so as to proved enough for his mother and to sell for the medicines she would need though he never did have enough and spent more nights going to bed cold and hungry than he cares to mention. By the time he was 10 his mother was virtually a vegetable, only responding maybe once a day when she had the energy. At this point Fredrik was becoming a much more prolific and competent thief but this only drew the attention of the law. Finally after attacking a shop keeper in a snatch and grab that went wrong he ended up in the cold hands of the law. Luckily for him during this time the judicial system of Sweden was abysmal and he managed to sneak his way out of one of the worst holding cells that had ever been conceived. However this short incarceration that had only lasted a number of days had taken its toll. His mother had died during his time away, alone and cold in her one room flat terrified about where her son had gone. AN official report would put it down to the large tumour that had been growing in her brain for some time now however Fredrik always blamed himself for her death, but more than that he blamed the law for taking him away from her. From then on he began more dangerous and daring crimes to raise a lot of money. Robbing early cars and small warehouses he managed to find the funds to make his way to Denmark and from there into Germany.
In Germany he was around 18 when he arrived and started looking for opportunities to make more money to further his own agenda. He fell in with a rough group known as the Die Wespen, The Wasps, who were notorious for extorting protection money from local businesses around a number of towns. To begin with Fredrik found this exhilarating, holding up managers and owners with his huge knife he got off of his first kill in a Wasps armband. He was famed for his brutal precision and rages that fell over him. It was here he was nicknamed Erik the Red, after the Viking, for his berserk attacks, very soon though he became tired of sticking up stores for enough to pay for a piss up every night of the week. He wanted more. Leaving the Wasps he fell upon a band of ex-soldiers, who had been dishonourably discharged for various offenses. They were a tough group to fall in with however he soon found that they too were looking for some easy money, even if that meant hurting the land that had basically disowned them. Soon he formed the Ex Korps. These were a group of men violent beyond compare; their first order of business was to take a considerable reward for eliminating The Wasps. Next, they took the place of the Wasps, extorting their own protection money, however under Fredrik’s advice they took this all a step further and started to take positions of power within the towns. Forming themselves an almost Mafioso style club. These glory days were not to last though and very soon the Fatherland brought his full force to bear, eliminating the Ex Korps and enslaving the rest. Fredrik was captured in his sleep and brought before judge in his boxers the same night. He was condemned to slavery in South America, just before the violence erupted there.
Before he could arrive in South America though the war with Portugal broke out and in a deal with the Germans he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army. During the early stages of the war he was simply a bog standard footman however it was clear to his superiors he was meant for better things as he showed time and time again he could carry out the most death defying missions with a cold and clinical nature. He was pushed onto a Special Ops unit and received his pilot training with them. The war ended soon after that however Fredrik had shown himself a veteran of my battles. Austria-Hungary put forward that he be forgiven for all charges in light of his service but Germany refused and he was put onto a Zeppelin back to Europe in ropes.
The days until his departure came thick and fast until he found himself on a Zeppelin on its way to Austria to board a boat to the colonies. Fate smiled on him though. Now he had learnt a lot from his time in the Ex Korps and fighting in South America, most of all the techniques and skills of the German Special Forces. During the final night he managed to slip free of his restraints, killing the guard that night he made his way to the pilot’s cabin, killing the pilot he finally made his way to an underslung plane that was being returned to Europe. He stole it and soon found himself very lost above the wilderness of Europe. He hadn’t much fuel and nd no place to call home. SO he did the only thing he could think of, he landed, illegally in Austria-Hungary. Forced a small airfield to refuel him and flew to Sweden. Landing he was immediately taken into custody for theft charges that were, by now around 20 years old. The case was almost laughed out of court and due to the pitiful display of the prosecution he was gifted some money as compensation for his time. Using this money he advertised himself as a gun for hire. He was in high demand during this stint as a mercenary and proved himself in the underground of Europe over a long line of successful missions. He still carried the nickname Erik the Red and used it as his code for the more illegal missions he took. Then one day came an offer he could not resist, a call for the best aces from around Europe.
Now Fredrik had always been a fine pilot and believed he was exactly what these men were looking for. Selling everything he left Sweden, again, with only his stolen plane, which he had refitted himself, thick leather clothes for flying and some protection, his pistol and the same knife he had always had. Arriving to the Wolves he immediately felt at home, especially after taking a young woman by the name of Madelief under his wing. She had been one of the first to welcome him and he had been fond of her. She hadn’t known how to fly when they had met and so he decided to teach her. It took many gruelling years and a lot of painful accidents but eventually she was flying just as well as him, perhaps even better on certain days. The money rolled in and Fredrik was, for the first time in his life, content. However like all things the times ended and everybody went their own ways. He bought a small holding back in Sweden in which he ran for Mayor for the local town, losing by only a few votes. Life without the Wolves had been tough though and he turned to the booze and meats to make up for it. The pounds rolled onto his stomach and out of his bank.
Now the Wolves are calling again and Fredrik cannot wait, the world awaits him. Though he may have to work out a bit before he is at his best again.
Other: He is fiercely proud of his heritage and ‘claims’ lineage to the true Erik the Red though really only to boost his name. He still has a grudge for the law in every country however.
Name: Valéria Aparecida Oliveira de Azevido
Nickname: 'Primeiro-Sargento Azevido' to the Brazilian military before she started piracy, just 'Azevido' now. She was known 'O Sombra' to the citizens of Brazil, South America, and quite a few opposing pilots, before her identity was discovered by the press. She was 'Valéria,' 'Val,' or 'Ria' to the Wolves of the Mediterranean, 'Ria' to younger members of her family, and 'Valéria Aparecida' to older members. 'Our Lady of the Wolves' (Nossa Senhora dos Lobos in her home country) or just 'Our Lady' (Nossa Senhora) for short popped up as a nickname for her because of her heritage, her shared name with the Our Lady of Aparecida statue, and the painting of the statue she had done on the side of her plane next to a wolf silhouette. She has gone by 'Olivia Zeivido' ever since the Wolves split up.
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Nationality: Brazilian
Appearance:
(Notable exceptions to the picture are that her skin is darker, her clothing is more appropriate to the period, and that she has multiple scars as markers of her military past)
Skills:
Valéria received training in various areas of combat and survival; first from her father, and then from the military. She is quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Her style is similar to boxing in that it emphasizes absorbing blows and throwing hard hits over avoiding blows and making quick attacks. As for languages, she speaks Portuguese, great Spanish, decent English, and conversational Italian. She can use guns up close, though her specialty is sniping. She is an excellent sniper, and has only improved in the recent years. Her most notable talent, though, is her flying. It is not an exaggeration to call her one of the best pilots alive. She has excellent instincts, reaction time, and aim. The biggest downfall to her distinct fighting style, though, is that it can be predictable. She tends to be more conservative, not risking unless she is sure the reward will be there. She will avoid taking on enemies head on, and always try to sustain as little damage as possible.
Traits and Quirks:
Valéria is a military woman, and that shows through even to this day. She is disciplined and practical, and cares little for personal appearance or socializing. Because she doesn't like talking much, she has always gotten a reputation for being cold. And, to be honest, she prefers it that way; it's a lot more preferable to people know the truth, that she mostly doesn't socialize because she's just not good at it. When she tries to make nice with people, she always gets flustered. It's easier for her to be blunt when she needs to speak and quiet the rest of the time. She also does not like for people to think of her as being anything but confident, or as caring too much. She does not express regret over past actions, rarely apologizes, and acts as though her own interests are the only ones that matter to her. In the first run with the Wolves, she made more than one comment about leaving them behind if things got too dicey, and other things that were really just unnecessary. It is clear to those who made the effort to know her, though, that such comments do not reflect her true feelings and are simply her way.
One thing that has caused genuine conflict, though, is that she was always just a bit more brutal than most of her teammates. She'd always advocate killing a man over letting him go free and possibly coming back to inconvenience them in some way. Though she helped to free the slaves along with everyone else, she admits that she has no problem with slavery where the slaves in question are criminals or otherwise unsavory characters.
History:
Valéria is the third child of the retired Colonel Geraldo de Azevido and his wife, notable businesswoman Josepha Maria de Azevido (nee Oliveira). Her father's line was a long line of military men, and her mother's, of traders of slaves and various goods slave labor provides. Their family resided in São Paulo, in a large white home near the edge of town that Valéria still remembers with much fondness. Not long after she was born a military coup overthrew their monarchy and, with the secret aid of Portugal, took control of the country. Her father was part of this coup, and found himself in control of their city and the land surrounding it. This influence also gave Josepha the ability to truly expand the business left to her as her father's only child.
Valéria grew up with a total of six siblings; one older brother, a younger twin, two other younger brothers, and two younger sisters. Her oldest brother is Geraldo Olivera de Azevido, six years her senior. Despite their shared name, Geraldo Olivera had next to nothing in common with their father. As the oldest son of a military family it was only natural to expect him to enlist, but the young man never wanted anything to do with war. He loved the beautiful things in life, art and music. He and his father could scarcely stay in the same room without fighting. After so much time spent trying and failing to train his eldest to follow in his footsteps, Valéria and her twin, Marcelino.
The two twins were very much alike in appearance, interests, and abilities. Their main difference was their temperaments; Where Valéria kept her cool head even as a child, Marcelino's hotheadedness was notorious. As they got older their forward thinking father began to train the both of them in the skills that their older brother couldn't be bothered with, like hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, various miscellaneous survival skills, and, when circumstances allowed it, flight. Though they were very, very close as children, a rivalry began to spring up as the increasingly angry Marcelino found that, no matter how prodigious he was in a given area, his sister was always one step ahead of them.
Of course, no matter how they would have preferred it otherwise, the lives of the twins did not revolve completely around training for military lives. It was their mother primarily who ensured that they had tutors who taught them languages, history, math, and sciences; it was generally only the latter two that stuck with Valéria. Their mother taught her the ins and outs of the family business, though it became clear that neither would be an ideal choice for inheriting it. That was just fine with Valéria; she dreaded the idea of sitting around all day, making trading contracts and balancing accounts. Additionally, though she grew up having no problem with her family owning slaves -her mother always justified it with the fact that the slaves received better treatment from them than they would from most, and with various instances of slavery in the bible- the idea of being the one who actively bought and sold the slaves left an oddly sour feeling in her stomach.
Valéria would gain a total of four more siblings as she grew up into a young woman. When she was four, Maria was born. Young Maria was very book smart even as a child, and her only two desires were to grow up to have a family and to contribute to her own family's fortune. Two years after Maria came Luiz, who looked up to Valéria and Marcelino with everything he was and desired to join the military as they did. A year after him came António, who would eventually serve two years in the military before pursuing his true dream of furthering his education, in the hopes of one day running their family's business with Maria. Finally, three years later, Adélia was born. She grew up with six very protective siblings, and always had an excellent mind for science.
When Valéria and Marcelino turned sixteen, they were both able to enlist in the army. Both aspired to be pilots; though the Brazilian Airforce would not be established until a little more than a decade later, there were still flight opportunities. Marcelino was able to serve on the front lines. Despite having better flying skills than her brother -and the rest of the Brazilian military, for that matter- Valéria was relegated to the Women's Auxiliary Transportation Squadron, one of three all-female groups in their military at the time. Valéria and her fellow pilots flew plans to where they would be deployed from for actual combat situations, and flew foot soldiers to the front lines, freeing up male pilots for air fights.
It frustrated Valéria very much to feel as though her skills were being wasted. But she was raised to be dutiful and to never, ever allow her emotions to get in the way, lest men forever file her away as another hysterical woman. Valéria gained what honors and rank she could, while Marcelino did the same. Though they still loved each other, the older twin always made thinly veiled quips on how he was now considered the superior of the two. Ironically enough, it was actually during a recreational flight in the presence of one of brother's friends and superiors that her skill was truly noticed. At the age of nineteen Valéria was sent for by the general who would become Marshal of the Air when the Air Force became an official branch of the Brazilian military. He, at least, recognized her ability to get even the most difficult of jobs done, and her drive to do it well.
It was originally only going to be a one time thing. In the dead of night, she'd fly out in an unmarked aircraft. The need to know basis of the mission was very strict and of her identity, even stricter. She was to take out an enemy pilot who was almost singlehandedly ravaging several ports, just out of the range of anti-aircraft guns. Though this pilot was extremely talented, Valéria was better. He spent the better part of an hour evading her, but she eventually got him into the range of the guns. After the mission's success, she was sent out on 'just one more' mission. Over the course of two years, she went on several dozen of these 'just one more' missions. She became a hit with the domestic war press, gaining the moniker O Sombra, because all anyone saw of her was the shadow left by her plane. Her identity remained a secret. What few higher-ups were in the know of her identity refused to make any official comment on her. When not conducting these secret missions, she continued her work with the Women's Auxiliary, eventually attaining the rank of First Sergeant.
After having taken down more than thirty extremely talented pilots of varying nationalities, Valéria was finally shot out of the sky by one of the very few enemy pilots who was more skilled than she. She was recovered by Portuguese forces having sustained minimal injuries, but the cat was out of the veritable bag. The media and foreign militaries alike got wind that O Sombra, their secret weapon for all flight missions, was a woman. Desperate to save face, the higher-ups came up with a cover up story; the actual O Sombra was Marcelino. Valéria had only been transporting his plane, and decided to go against orders and get involved in that one battle. Because of her true service, she did not receive a demotion in rank or pay. However, for the sake of the press, she was relocated to guarding an isolated gold mine.
These events caused a huge rift in their family. Her father knew the truth from the beginning, because the general who'd appointed Valéria was an old friend of his. He'd been so proud of her, and found himself furious with Marcelino for receiving credit on her behalf. Marcelino, for his part, had no choice in the matter; he was given orders to lie about his identity. Although he had always desired the fame, respect, and rank that came with the lie, he wanted to earn them on his own merit. He felt angry at himself for taking what was his sisters, embarrassed that he had never actually surpassed her as he originally thought, and even a little angry at her -though mostly just hurt- that she did not share her identity with him. Marcelino could no longer face his sister after that day. Their other siblings were able to deduct the truth, but young, patriotic, idealistic Louiz took it very difficulty, because it shook up his perceptions of how the world around him work.
After her relocation, Valéria was bitter, but not particularly angry. She became very disillusioned with the world around her, to the point that even the atrocities that she was overseeing had very little effect on her. For her frigid demeanor and expectations of absolute adherence and obedience, she became known to the slaves as a heartless woman. However, she only laid her hands on a slave once; six months after she'd been posted there, one of a group of POWs brought up the O Sombra scandal. He accused her of being a weak woman who'd gone out searching for fame and got shot out of the air on her first combat flight. She calmly told him to quiet himself, but he kept on going, becoming more insulting and more vulgar, until she finally snapped. Hers was a cold fury, but in a way, that only made it worse; she hit him, again and again, and finally pulled her gun on him and dared him to insult her again. Such incidents were common the part of the guards, usually triggered by conflicts far less than this. But it only took a few seconds of staring down her barrel at him for her to become herself again. She was horrified at herself, and at what she'd allowed herself to become.
She feigned sickness for several days after that as she tried to work out just what had happened. Finally, she went out of her way to make it up to the man .She apologized in that brisk way she was accustomed to, the only way she knew how. She got him extra rations of food. Though she still tried to project the same cool image, her treatment of the slaves became noticeably better. More than once, she got into physical altercations with her fellow guards because of their cruelty towards the slaves. On one hot, miserable day, tensions were running particularly high, she reprimanded two who nearly overpowered in retaliation. However, the slave for whom she'd intervened stepped in. This did not help her relationships with the other guards. Still, her actions and several chance encounters that turned to talk of flying led to her forming a friendship with one Wolfgang Gotz. Her acquaintance with him contributed even more to the steady changing of her beliefs. When Arturo and his squadron came to free Wolfgang, she caught onto what was going on almost as soon as she heard the alerts and actually facilitated the rescue. She fully expected to be court marshaled and executed for her participation, but saw this as a means of reparations for what damage she'd done. The last thing she expected was to be invited along for the ride; still, Valéria was repentant, not suicidal, and she would not turn down the chance to start over.
Upon arrival in Europe, Valéria went to Italy, where her oldest brother had moved to pursue his art. She originally just visited to let him know that she was alive, but he insisted that she live with him for a while. She agreed. Luckily, he'd made quite a bit of money while she was off fighting, and he lived in a relatively isolated estate on the coast. Many back home believed she was dead, so no one was looking for her, especially not in Italy. She lived comfortably with him for a few months, recovering from injuries she sustained during the escape. She had just returned to full health when Wolfgang tracked her down and asked her to be the first member -excluding Arturo and himself, of course- of their new group of pirates. Seeing a chance to prove herself once again, to make money, and even to repent (though she'd never acknowledge that last one as having been a part of her reasoning) she joined up.
She stuck with them all three years. There was more than one teammate who disliked her because of her history, because of the cool demeanor she still preferred to put on, or because of her claims of only caring about her own safety and profit, but there was no denying her skill. Besides, those who'd known her the longest were able to see through her words and recognize her true loyalty. When the group finally split, she acted as if she didn't care in the least, but in reality it troubled her deeply. She didn't know what to do with herself without them. She couldn't go home; she was still wanted, and she hadn't been flying with the Wolves for long until her identity got out. Because it did, she was afraid to return to her older brother's home, because she did not want to bring danger his way.
At a loss for what to do, she adopted the name Olivia Zeivido and began to travel. She had enough money saved to fund her travels and to live comfortably, but she eventually started taking odd jobs just to alleviate the crushing feeling of idleness. She eventually settled down on the very edge of a small, isolated town in Italy. Here she bought piece of land and built a small home. She replaced the plane and guns she'd sold when she started her travels, and got to work improving her skills. Day in and day out she shot until she ran out of bullets, ran until she couldn't stand, and punched whatever hard surface was available until her knuckles bled. Keeping her skills sharp was the only thing she had to latch on to. The only reason for her to keep going at all, in her mind. She would never be a mother or a wife, she could never make her mark on the world like her brother, through art and words. All she'd ever put into the world was pain and suffering, and apparently even her attempts at repentance were just not meant to be. So, what else was she good for?
A year after her self-imposed isolation began, she put out feelers through her old contacts in the criminal world and found herself a new method of employment. Anything involving flying was too risky; she was sure that her distinctive style would be recognized and the anti-pirate groups would be back on her tail. So, she put her other main skill to use; shooting. She became an assassin for hire, falling into the routine of doing a job, donating most of the money to some charity or another out of guilt, drowning herself in alcohol -while with the Wolves she insulted those who drank because it dulled their skills, but that was then, and this was now- to dull her grief, training herself even harder than before to make up for her binge, and restarting the process.
She decided to return to the Wolves almost as soon she heard that they were reforming; she'd done more good with them, after all, than she ever had before in her life. Unfortunately for her, she has just received a letter from her older brother Geraldo that Marcelino and Louiz were promoted. They were re-stationed to Portugal, to participate in a new anti-piracy force.
Other: N/A
Name: Lucian Dubois
Nickname: Faucon (Hawk)
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Nationality: French
Appearance:
[hider=Lucian]
Standing at a rather unimposing 5’09”, Lucian is hardly athletic but nevertheless in commendable physical condition thanks to a long history of having both an active
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