Character Description: Sol is a very quiet, reserved individual, having learned from a young age to keep his cards close to his chest. Tactically minded, Sol is almost always thinking one or two steps ahead, both in his professional and personal lives, and as such, he doesn’t like surprises. While he’s a reasonable and rational kind of man, he has one main, driving force pushing him to put everything he has into what he does: revenge.
Character Goals: My goal in writing Sol is to provide a kind of foil to Luna’s story. While her side will mostly be somewhat similar to Luffy’s (adventure, action, and making connections), Sol’s will more or less be the opposite, focusing on his struggle to play the part of one person in the pursuit of his personal goal while trying not to forget who he is and where he came from, doing his best to always keep people at arm's length. Like Luna’s story, I plan on Sol’s side being very character-driven.
Organization: Marines
Occupation/Position: Captain
Starting Sea: North
Relations:Dawn Luminos: Mother (Deceased)
Astrum Luminos: Father (Deceased)
Stella Luminos: Younger sister (Deceased)
Luna Nox: Friend (Deceased, to his knowledge)
Devil Fruit/Special Abilities: Sol is a gifted swordsman, having been trained to use one from almost as early as he could walk. His skill with the blade and mastery of his original style, the Symphonic Blade, are part of the reason why he was able to ascend to the rank of Captain at a young age, despite the fact that he doesn’t have the power of a Devil Fruit.
During his time with the Marines, however, Sol picked up a couple of new tricks: Skywalk (Geppo) and Shave (Soru), two abilities from the Six Powers. Due to the fact that he isn’t as gifted in physical strength or toughness as some others, he uses these abilities to improve his mobility in combat, making it harder for the enemy to pin him down. As skilled as he might be in these newer forms of fighting, though, there remains one more that he only uses as a last resort, given that it poses the biggest risk to his identity.
The Way of Lumen is a fighting style unique to his homeland, a style of swordsmanship that focuses primarily on speed. This sword-fighting style, taught from a young age, trains the user to move in ways that allow them to maximize their muscular system’s power and efficiency. While it’s possible to use this style barehanded, it truly shines when paired with a sword. A true master is said to be able to swing their sword fast enough to ignite the blade.
In lieu of this powerful fighting style, Sol has developed the Symphonic Blade, an original fighting style of his that makes use of his above-average speed, enhanced even further with Skywalk and Shave. Each attack is based off of a musical term and it’s said by some that music could be heard from his blade.
Sol’s greatest weapon, despite his skill with the blade, is his mind. While he’s a skilled combatant, his grasp of tactics have pulled himself and his crew from the brink numerous times.
Character note: Sol's eyes change color depending on his emotional state, which is a trait unique to his family and a big reason why he works so hard to keep his emotions in check. Depending on how intense his emotions are, his eyes will change from black to red, orange, yellow, white, and finally, blue.
Sample Post: Captain Maxwell Rackham stood at the bow of his ship, his hands resting on his saber in front of him. His white overcoat, the word “Justice” embroidered on his back, fluttered in the wind with his long, black hair. Sharp, black eyes peered out at the horizon from underneath his white cap, his expression inscrutable. The way he stood, his shoulders back, head held high, seemed to almost command respect, despite his age and the fact he was slightly shorter than average. And though he was quiet and often kept to himself, his crew respected and trusted him with their lives and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel bad about it, given his true goals. They were all good men and women, so far as he could tell, though he’d be the first to admit he doesn’t spend much time chatting with most of them.
No, I can’t afford to feel guilty about that, he thought with a shake of his head.
One of these days, even these people will be my enemies. I can’t get too close to any of them.“Figured this is where I’d find you, Captain Max!” a cheerful voice said from behind him.
Maxwell let out a quiet sigh and said,
”Good morning, Lieutenant Nelson. Is there something you need?”Lieutenant Rachel Nelson grinned and leaned against the railing next to her captain. She was only a little taller than Maxwell was and her long blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail, fluttered in the salty wind. “Well, a fight was brewing between a couple of the cadets in the mess,” she said, her blue eyes glittering with her smile. “I put a stop to that, though. Told them to mop the ship, inside and out, until they could make nice, again.”
Maxwell nodded. Lieutenant Nelson, despite her cheerful demeanor, never hesitated to mete out punishments and it was a big reason why Maxwell considered her his second-in-command. In truth, it was hardest for him to maintain his distance from her, in particular. While Rachel is more outgoing, her smile always reminded him of an old friend and he couldn’t help but feel an urge to get closer to her. “So, mind telling me why we’re heading east, anyway?” Lieutenant Nelson asked, pulling Maxwell from his thoughts. “We keep going this way, we’re gonna be crossing into the old Empire’s waters, eventually, and there isn’t anything out that way. Hasn’t been since it fell.”
”You know how pirates think,” Maxwell replied without missing a beat.
”If they think there’s any chance of easy money, they’d take it, wouldn’t they? I know it’s been fifteen years, but they might think there’s something worth looting from the corpse of an empire, hiding away in some nook or cranny.”Rachel was quiet for a moment before she shrugged. “I suppose you’re right,” she relented. After another moment, she asked, “Isn’t there a blockade in place, though? How could pirates or anyone else get through that?”
Maxwell let out a dry chuckle and said,
”Pirates are pests and, like any other pest, they’ll always find a way to be where they shouldn’t. Like they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”He turned his gaze out back toward the horizon and noticed a dark spot out on the water a ways out. A moment later, his baby transponder snail started to ring. When he answered, the man stationed up in the crow’s nest said, “Sir, there’s a pirate ship off the port bow. Should we give chase?”
”Go ahead,” Maxwell replied. He hung up, then turned back to face the rest of his ship.
”Prepare for battle!” he shouted.
”Ready the forward cannons! We’ll start off with a warning shot, see if they’ll make things easy for us!”With a collective, “Aye, aye!” Maxwell’s crew got to work, hurrying across the deck as they made ready for combat. The sails unfurled to full and the ship began to speed forward. In no time at all, they were in firing range. Maxwell gave the order and one of the four fore cannons roared to life, firing a single shot. The cannonball sailed through the air and splashed into the ocean, narrowly missing the ship. Maxwell waited as the ship turned starboard, bringing their broadside to bare. “Looks like they wanna fight,” Rachel replied with a sigh.
Maxwell returned his sword to its place at his left side and took a step toward the bow of his ship.
”Tell the men I’m going over,” he told his lieutenant. Before she could try to stop him, he leapt into the air. He kicked out against the empty air hard enough to compress it under the sole of his foot, creating an invisible foothold that he used to leap through the air over and over again.
“Fire!!” the pirate captain shouted. The starboard cannons roared to life, sending a volley of steel toward the Navy ship that had caught up to them. He and his men were just starting out. They had only just stolen this ship and had yet to even come up with a name for their group, but they’ve already been presented with an opportunity to make a name for themselves by sinking a Navy ship.
The cannonballs landed in the ocean without coming close to hitting their target. The captain growled and yelled, “Don’t you idiots know how to aim a cannon?! What am I paying you for?!”
“We just set sail!” one of his men shouted back. “Besides, who made you captain?! I don’t remember that vote!”
“Keep up with that attitude and I’m throwing you overboard!” the self-proclaimed captain yelled back.
”That’s not a good sign. You all have just set sail and you’re already at each other’s throats?”The deck of the ship suddenly went quiet as all eyes turned toward the newcomer. A white overcoat fluttered from his shoulders as he adjusted the cuffs of his jet black suit. His long, black hair, tied back in a high ponytail, flowed in the breeze. His appearance was so sudden that it was a long time before someone voiced the one thought on everyone’s mind: “W-where did you come from?!”
”That ship over there,” Maxwell replied, pointing back to his ship.
”My name is Captain Maxwell Rackham and I come here to present an offer to you all. Drop your weapons, put your hands over your heads, and allow us to take you into custody. Otherwise…” He laid his hand on the hilt of his sword and let the gesture finish his sentence.
A long few moments passed before the captain shouted, “What’re you waiting for, men?! He’s just one man! Send the other dogs a message and kill him!”
With a roar, the men all shouted and rushed at Maxwell. The Marine captain sighed and loosened his sword from its sheath with his thumb.
”It always ends like this,” he muttered.
”Symphonic Blade: Cadenza Della Spada!”To the pirates, it would appear that Maxwell suddenly disappeared. Without warning, several cuts suddenly opened up on each of their bodies, almost simultaneously. The captain’s ears twitched as he watched his crew get sliced up and he thought he could hear…music? Before the pirates fell to the deck with pained cries, Maxwell reappeared behind the captain, his sword across the man’s throat.
”Don’t worry, they’re still alive,” he quietly told the pirate captain.
”I’ll give you one more chance: drop your weapon. I know I said they’re still alive, but if you don’t make your choice now, it’ll be too late for them.”The pirate captain broke out into a cold sweat. He could feel the sharp blade just
barely touching his throat. He knew that before he could even think about twitching a muscle, the Marine captain behind him wouldn’t think twice about pulling that blade across his throat. His eyes drifted to his crew, all of whom were laying on the deck, groaning as puddles of blood slowly spread out from their wounds. Gritting his teeth, the captain let his weapon clatter to the deck and Maxwell let out a sigh.
”Good decision,” he quietly said as he waved at his ship, signaling to them that it was safe to approach.
“I’ve never seen anyone move like that,” the pirate captain muttered. Even though Maxwell had introduced himself earlier, he asked, “Who are you?”
Several moments passed as the Marine ship approached. Maxwell sighed and slowly turned toward the pirate captain as he allowed some of his anger toward the people who had destroyed his home surface. His black eyes shifted into red, auburn, then into yellow, white, and finally a startling blue.
”Just a man trying to make things right,” he quietly said as reigned in his emotions, letting his eyes return to their previous black.
Post Directory: As you post, please link any posts you make IC here. This will allow anyone who wants to follow your exploits better ability to follow along, plus make it easier for me to reference things as needed. It’s also helpful to divide them by story arc.
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