Super Rough Draft.

[b]Name:[/b] Mars
[b]Age:[/b] 24
[b]Race:[/b] Human
[b]Sex:[/b] Male
[b]Appearance:[/b] Average height and modest build, with curly black hair which falls between the shoulder blades. Mars had brown eyes and keeps clean shaven except for a well manicured mustache. He typically wears a linen Jack of Plates over his long sleeved white tunic, which is promptly tucked into his brown trousers and held up by a belt sash. Fragments of different flags of all the ships Mars has stepped foot on are sewed to his sash, giving it a mismatched appearance. 

Mars also opts to sport a felt wide brim hat and black gloves and boots, and over it all he typically wears an elaborate, but faded buff coat. Finally a slim Rapier with an ornate metallic handle hangs at his waist. 

[b]Homeland:[/b] Kingdom of Tuleria
[b]History:[/b]

[hider=history]
 Light from the noon sun permeated the thin cloth curtains and filled the room with a dim ambient glow. Old rickety boards covered the floor and shrieked with each step, and all around furniture was pushed against the walls of the decrypted house. The room smelled of mold and stale air and a young man sat squarely in a chair, with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his clasped hands. He wore a white, long sleeved, cotton shirt which was tucked into his pale brown trousers; he smelled like the ocean breeze. 

"It's been a long time," he said slowly, exhaling as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.

"Too long," a weary voice replied. It came from a woman, middle-aged but with skin weathered long beyond her years. Her eyes had sunken into her skull and dark rings surrounding them, and her cheeks were concave and all throughout her face her bony structure revealed itself. She lay sickly skeleton on the bed. 

He could feel her eyes on him, but he kept his own gaze fixated on the floor. This isn't how he imagined a reunion. He had hoped to find his father here, but instead found his mother sickly and frail. 

"You were such a sweet boy. Mischievous and impossible to handle, but sweet." He felt her hand run through his hair. "You take after your father." 

"Except I don't have a family to beat," he replied sharply, looking up to her as he said so, but her eyes were on the ceiling now and she either didn't hear the comment or had tuned it out. She had always protected him, his father. The man could beat her to an inch of her life but could do no wrong. 

"When we first married he would take me to the sea. We would stay on the water for days with only each other to keep company. I remember the sun, the warm ocean air and turquoise waters rocking the ship," she said to herself, her eyes glazed over and staring blankly to some image she had conjured in her mind. 

Mars began a word but stopped and kept quiet. He thought of spitting on his father's memory, but his mothers fragile nature dissuaded him. His old man had apparently been lost to the sea some years prior.

"Sounds nice." 

"When you ran away, we heard word you had left with a trader. Boarded the ship and never came back" 

"I did."

"Tell me about it."

"I slipped out my window and ran to the docks. Elijah Morrison, do you remember him? He was about to set sail but was short and looking for more hands. I offered him mine and we left."

Her eyes finally broke away from the ceiling and turned to match his own. She had always had beautiful blue eyes, but now they looked distant and hollow. She spoke, "No, tell me about from then to now."

Mars sighed and leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his thighs, "Well, first we sailed south, to Rheinfield. At the time, I thought it was so exotic. Grass so green you'd think they had painted every blade, and the churches there were so grand you could look up, and I swear they disappeared into the clouds. They had stained glass with imagery so ornate I thought them kings to afford such novelty."

She was listening intently.

"It was such an experience, but looking back it was all hardly exotic. After a length of time trading between Tuleria, Rheinfeld and Liveria, we set sail across the ocean. I remember looking at the map with Elijah and asking where we were sailing to. He pointed to some half drawn scribbles a world away, land so unknown he actually couldn't find a map of it in all of Rheinfield." Mars chuckled to himself.

"We sailed for weeks and through storms so fierce we thought the gods themselves had condemned us. Great waves ripped over the rails and tossed our ship like a child tosses a toy. I tell you I had never been so certain of death as I was in my first storm."

Mars' voice gradually quickened with excitement, "Lightning cracked around us and the decks were soaked with seawater and piss -- we were all scared. Elijah though, he clung to the edge of the bow and shouted to the gods 'Kill me! I dare you! My spirit will fuck your shrines!'" Mars said shaking his fist as Elijah had done, a smile on his face. Then he stood and began to pace the room. 

"Well we pulled through, and when the storms had cleared, we found ourselves off the coast of Nimera. A land of desert much like or own, but I swear the water there was so blue and crystalline you could see the ocean floor as if you were looking through glass. Great fish swam and the ocean floor was covered in a colorful kind of smooth rock; the kind noble ladies pay a great deal for here in our country. The people there too! They had porous skin and spoke of how their ancestors had been able to breathe in the water as surely as they now breathed on land! I had never seen people so Bizarre. We gave them all the commodities of our lands, Iron and Emberstone and in return they gave us riches: Smoothstone and Pearls. Of course the entire time we were racing against the competition, other sailors who were trying to carve out a fortune. Elijah taught me how to handle them civilly and avoid conflict."

[i]By holding them up.[/i]

"But every now and then some of them didn't want to cooperate, and just wanted conflict."

[i]So we killed them.[/i]

"Well, during all this we sailed along the coast and watched the sands turn to savannah, and there we traded seeds and gold for Jade and Ivory. We sailed further and traded for silks, perfumes and spices, further still we came to the biggest city I had ever seen! Great walls enclosed the bay made of stone so white it burnt the eyes when it caught the sun. There they made what Elijah called white gold, and they molded vases and plates out of it. Lords and Ladies from half the world over paid a small fortune for but a chest load of it all."

Mars chuckled to himself, "Later we discovered the white gold was crafted from heated clay, and they had such an abundance of it they might as well shit all over it for as common as it was. Wouldn't that be a site! Selling shit stained dinnerware to a fat noble lord.

We were never in any rush to come home. For all the stories of savages the world over, you'd be surprised how hospitable most of them were. We stayed at a single village once for nine months. Eventually though, It was time to leave, and after our ship was nice and stuffed Elijah spent some days studying the stars until he was convinced he knew how to get home. You see, you can use a contraption called a Sextant, and wh-"

Mars stopped once it became evident his tangent was only confusing his mother. "Well we sailed home," he began with a sigh, "but a month or two into the journey pirates happened across us. They boarded and we fought and somehow by the grace of the gods we won, but Elijah had been killed by a crossbow bolt through the chest."

"I wish you didn't tell me that. I don't want to know about the violence."

 The room was quiet. But soon curiosity got the better of her, "What did you do when your captain died?"

"Well, we discussed who should be his successor. The first mate, was mean enough but was hardly more of a sailor then a child whose never seen the ocean. Of course every man wanted himself for captain, myself included."

"Mean enough? You were traders."

 "Rambunctious traders."

 "Well who did you decide on?"

"No one. We all drew swords," he lowered his voice and spoke coolly. 

"Greed got to our heads."

"Mars, that's horrible, what happened next? Was anyone killed?"

"No one was wounded."

[i]But people were killed[/i], Mars added with a thought, trying to circumnavigate questions with half true answers.

"And it was horrible," Mars took his seat back in front of his mother. "A man named Lendin Shrine eventually took control, him and his supporters. After they outnumbered the rest of us they gave us all the option to jump to the water or be branded Pirates as mutineers."

Mars pulled off his left glove, revealed a P burnt into the flesh, "Some swam. In the end it didn't matter."

"You're not a pirate though," His mother said, coming across as more a question than a statement. "Why didn't it matter?"

"They loaded us onto the pirate vessel and chained us together to the mast. Then lit the whole ship on fire and sailed merrily away. They left a handful of weapons among the lot of us so we could die like men."

"My gods.... how did you escape?"

" We broke the chains with our weapons and sailed a lifeboat away."

[i]The chains were too strong to break, and we panicked. Someone starting sawing someone elses foot off, then eventually we all started killing each other until I was the last left, I sawed off their feet as the ship burnt to the water, then clung to a piece of driftwood for nine days with only a canteen to keep me alive. Eventually I saw land, and by the grace of the gods was washed ashore with a throng of empty shackles tugging at my ankle.[/i]

"When we were home, I decided I ought to make amends with my family," Mars said as he stared at his mother with cold eyes. He could scarcely believe she was his mother at all as frail as she looked. Other than that, his lifetime away from her had left him with such a disconnect that only the mental reminder that she was indeed his mother kept him grounded with her. 

She was quiet for a moment, letting it all sink in. Finally, she said, "We've all made mistakes. What are you going to do now?"

"Well," he began, "I suppose I'm going to stay to look after you until your health is back."

[i]Until you pass away.[/i]

"After that, well I heard the Renaltan queen is recruiting anyone who can handle themselves. I also heard they're paying fairly well. Maybe I'll save money the money. I don't feel like sailing again for some time."

[i]Until I can buy a ship to hunt Lendin and skewer him like the dog he is.[/i]

"Mars, I'm so sorry. For everything. You should of grown up with us," she said teary eyed. 

"We all make mistakes," Mars smiled and grabbed her hand. He didn't love her, and he hardly respected her. Sour memories of his father's violence and her ignorant excuses saw to that, but she was his mother none the less, and it was what he felt he owed her. A love which was kind of a burdensome debt. 

Mars wondered what she felt.
[/hider]

[b]General Traits:[/b]

Slippery (Rank 2)
Rapid Blows (Rank 1)
Sharp (Rank 1)
Acrobatics (Rank 1)

[b]Unique Traits:[/b]

Unorthodox (Rank 2):

A fair fight is noble, but being noble isn't always being smart. Some call it Unorthodox, others call it cheating, but Mars calls it ingenuity. This lifestyle builds a reputation that attracts the wrong kind of people... or the right kind, depending on your perspective.(Allows Mars to better see opportunities to 'cheat' and grants a diplomatic bonus with Chaotic Neutral and Lawful Evil characters, maybe Chaotic Good depending on the character. Diplomatic penalty against Lawful Good characters.)

Botanist (Rank 1): 

One thing that has always fascinated Mars is the exotic plant life of far off lands. Such an interest in fact that Mars has made it a point to collect and categorize the different flora he has encountered through his expeditions, making him well versed in the knowledge of beneficial, or harmful, properties of various flora, and to some extent even how to combine them to produce desired effects. 

Opportunistic (Rank 1): 

 Stab em in the back then kick em when they're down! (Bonus to actions performed against unalert or wounded characters)

[b]Achievements:[/b]
--Weaponized Stick: You're particularly good at taking everyday objects or pieces of nature and turning them into horrifying weapons. Booze? Flammable! Sticks? Stabbable! Boring politicians? Perfect for annoying neighbors! (Minor bonus to improvised tools and weapons.)

--Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone. (Minor bonus to anything when done with a compatriot, to a reasonable degree.)

[b]Equipment:[/b]
Jack of Plates
Rapier
Buff Coat
Notebook which he records his botany findings in. 

[b]Romance:[/b] Sure
[b]Does the Kouri Plushi Exist?[/b] Yes? Yes.
[b]Signature:[/b] Brand