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Kaitha Morro

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20

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Female

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The Sea of Stars

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Moon (Shadow)

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• Negative Space: Embracing her aether sign, Kaitha becomes a blot, enshrouded, coated as if by ink and shadow. Pitch drips from her form, liquid dark that slithers back to her as quickly as it hits the dirt. All that remains are two glinting white pits for eyes, which seem paradoxically bored into her, and also detached, moving about her head freely to grant her a wider degree of vision. In addition to making her an absolute nightmare to look at, this ability grants Kaitha a slight enhancement to her speed and strength.

• Flitter: Only usable while in Negative Space, Flitter allows Kaitha to make herself just that much harder to hit. Her umbral edges blur, her steps stutter and she moves like a smudge, or the shadow of a nightbird passing overhead.

• Moonlit Confessional: When she was young, Kaitha would sometimes hear whispers in the dark. It was only much, much later she discovered that, with focus, she could speak back to it. While the dark never answered, she did find some use in sending her shadowy messages to others, who would hear her distorted voice crawling from the dark.

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Spirited, thrill-seeking, and in desperate need of some good friends, Kaitha is a an outgoing and curious person by nature. However, growing up in such an isolated place with few people willing to associate with her means she’s still learning the ins and outs of proper socialization. Sometimes she speaks when she shouldn’t, others she’s silent when she ought to speak.

While not as deeply spiritual as some of the people from her home, she still shoulders a few quasi-religious eccentricities. As well, though she likes meeting new people, and isn’t normally one to judge, she isn’t shy about espousing her disdain for the empire.

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For centuries, the great beast called Aephel, and the shell-city atop it, drifted along the Sea of Stars’ border, patrolling the few and dangerous routes to its neighbor, the Lost Sea. Aephel’s people were as enigmatic as the fog they watched, remaining largely isolated from the rest of their own nation, as well as the nations beyond. Those few outsiders who anchored there, did so briefly and would describe the culture as insular and arcane. They were largely self-governing, but frequently ceded authority to an organization of warrior priests called “Aephel’s Choir,” or, more colloquially, just “The Choir.” While not outright hostile, Aephel’s cold and unwelcoming nature towards outsiders ensured that little else was learned of it.

Kaitha, however, learned plenty.

Although they did not worship it, Aephel’s people regarded the moon in a way many would comfortably describe as “religious.” They took guidance from the waxing and waning, from the tides, even from its reflections. Omens both good and bad were derived from every facet of its being, and among them, to be born under its aetheric sign was considered great.

Most often.

Born under the vermillion light of a harvest moon, Kaitha was not what many would consider a lucky child. In fact, the word used most frequently was “cursed.” It didn’t help that her mother, Petra, was head of the Choir, and would for the rest of her days fight tooth and nail against the notion that her position should be forfeited to someone with children who were less doomed.

Kaitha grew up under scrutiny from not only the Choir, but the people of Aephel in all. When misfortune befell them, without fail there would be whispers of fated calamity, and now and then there were more heated calls for Petra to resign—calls which were quickly and severely silenced. Rather than cave to the pressure and become a recluse like her late father, or a cold statue like her mother, Kaitha did what plenty of high-spirited youths would do in her shoes: rebel.

Aephel prized solitude, so Kaitha socialized—as best she could. Whenever the rare visitors would anchor, she would talk with them and hear their stories of excitement and adventure. She would join diving crews plundering areas nearby on Aephel’s ceaseless journey, and return each time to the same scornful glares and pointed whispers she would have gotten anyway. People said she was shirking her duty, besmirching the Morro name; they would use it to justify never letting her into the Choir, as if they were ever considering it. She trained anyway. Petra would never let her daughter go to waste no matter what the others thought. Kaitha might never wear the diving habits of the Choir, but she would protect Aephel and the Sea of Stars just the same.

Things changed when she was eighteen. An argument with her mother saw Kaitha once again abandoning her duties to go play at adventuring with passing divers who were predictably and thoroughly disturbed by her, but she didn’t care. She was gone for days, living a life she only dreamed could be real, and when the fun was over, and it was time to go, she was struck with the same sinking melancholy that always followed her home.

Only, there was no home.

Kaitha saw it on the horizon, how Aephel was tilted in a strange way, how the water was darker and the fog—gods, the fog. It rolled down from on high, and though she could not see it she felt in her the fear of something very small standing before something utterly titanic. The loudest sound Kaitha had ever heard exploded through the air, louder than any thunder crash or tidal wave, a sound she could never truly describe but which would remain with her in her mind forever.

When the fog cleared Aephel was gone. Her mother, her home, the Choir, all of it was just…gone. They found wreckage in the waters, little of it salvageable and none of it bearing any hint as to what exactly had happened. She found a diving habit, and a Choir weapon, but otherwise Kaitha left the remains of her home to sink.

Afterwards, Kaitha stayed with the divers until they reached the Sea of Ancients where, with nowhere else to go and no other prospects, she joined the Diver’s Guild.

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Kaitha’s habit isn’t just for pretending she’s part of a dead order that shunned her for her entire life—it also serves as a diving suit, and is perfectly functional in combat.

Her weapon, a saw-bladed staff, was designed mainly for use against the creatures of the Mother Ocean, but works just as well on anything else she can dig its teeth into. Durable and deceptively lightweight, it can even be used underwater.

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Name
Crus Acosta

Age
Eighteen

Gender
Male

Home Sea
South Sea

Aether Sign
Sun (Wind)

Aether Abilities
Crus' Aether abilities are extremely minor. The most he can do at the moment is create a breeze. At it's strongest Crus can use it to give himself a tailwind and move faster while using less stamina, or to give himself a push through the water while swimming. Most of the time he uses it instead to cool himself down, cheat at tops, or passive aggressively knock things over. His control is poor when his emotions are high.

Personality
On the surface, Crus is a bit of a people pleaser. A young man with a warm personality. He is friendly and playful, and never shy around strangers. He acts much the same whether around old friends or new acquaintances, and he doesn't discriminate. He enjoys chatting, and to that end he can be a bit pushy. He likes prying, and especially likes getting his way. Crus isn't one to give in easily, and that extends to much more than just personal relationships. He has a stubborn streak a mile wide that helps him to chase his wants and goals even when the going gets tough, but he's patient enough to play the long game too.

Crus can be irresponsible. If he doesn't want to do something, he tries to find a way out of it. This doesn't particularly mean that Crus is lazy - he's done his fair share of hard work during his life, but the weight of responsibilities, of people relying on you, makes him uncomfortable. For that reason he doesn't make many promises to people either. A promise with Crus is a rare thing indeed.

Though stubborn and bullheaded in most things, when it comes to interpersonal conflict Crus will deflect, get defensive, and offer platitudes before anything else. If he can avoid a scrap he will, but his small amount of pride won't let him back down if things get physical. Of course, most conflict of that nature can be avoided by either telling the other person what they want to hear, or by cutting into them with sharp words. Just have to know who you're fighting with. Maybe under different circumstances, Crus could have been quite the manipulator. Might still turn out that way, but at the moment he prefers getting what he wants by taking care of it himself. By the way, Crus is also a pretty talented liar, but he's honest more often than not. That probably makes it all the harder to tell when he is lying.

History
On the island of Ororuel in the South Sea, the Acosta family served as governors for the last few generations. It's household housed the former chief Asabien, his son and current chief Barachel and wife, and of course Crus: only son and future chief. There is a certain charm and excitement knowing you're destined to lead people, to take over the family mantle... but as Crus grew up, the feeling wore off quickly.

Though the tradition was to continue with Crus, he consistently fell short of his family's expectations. He had no motivation to take over the position, no interest at all in politics, and did not show any inkling of the skills needed to act as chief. He was a hard worker, so long as it was work he was interested in doing, and carrying a community on his back was not. Instead, his heart was set on adventure. Since early childhood he was the type to feed into his curiosity, leading faux adventuring teams made of the community's kids to discover all their island had to offer. First hand experiences with flora and fauna dealt life lessons in the form of scars, but Crus always went back for more. He was a hands on learner. Traditional classes were never for him, and he shirked many meetings with tutors in favor of outings into nature - whether it be into caves, climbing hills, or diving underwater. If he could touch it, he wanted to know about it; the how, why and when. Philosophy, law, diplomacy... those weren't physical things, and so didn't interest him in the slightest. History was about the only thing he wasn't able to touch that he felt worth learning about. His antics were tolerated as a child, but as the years passed it created a tension and dissonance between himself and the island's older population, including his father and grandfather.

Elders of the island grew worried of the family's future, and considered another one taking over. Anxious, and frankly irritated at the prospective young chief, they openly talked about their concerns and scorn. With each other, with their families, and of course to the chief himself who would hear every complaint and bring it back to his own family.

By the time Crus was a teenager, the friction surrounding him was well established. That time in a person's life is already chaotic and confusing enough, but Crus spent it torn between not wanting to disappoint his family or his community, and wanting to stay true to himself. He'd known for a long time that he didn't want to take on the mantle of chief, and though no amount of pushing, smothering, or convincing would change his mind he let people believe that it might. The time Crus spent in the village was filled with lies, platitudes, and avoidance. At home it was arguing, simmering anger, and strained smiles in between moments of familial love. There was a lot of sneaking off to forget about his duties for a while, a habit he'd never shaken from childhood, but whenever they could his father and grandfather would keep Crus on a short leash. More lessons, more scars.

Whenever he get away, Crus spent most of his time outside of the village. For one, his peers and the younger members of the community still adored him (at least the ones that hadn't taken their elders' mumbling to heart). Playing, helping, or just chatting and relaxing were his favorite pasttimes, besides exploring. Having long since scoured every nook and cranny of Ororuel, more often than not Crus took to the ocean. He pretended to be a Diver and brought back shells, coral, and all kinds of trinkets from the sea bed to give to the little ones - especially his new little sister, whom he could never be upset with. There had been a particularly difficult period of time when it came to light that his parents had been trying for another son. Though it ultimately failed of course, the tactic actually worked for a while, but eventually the frustration caught up with him and Crus disappeared for a few weeks. It was during that time he'd taken a boat out and let the sea's current take him wherever it willed. He slept under the stars, rocked by ocean waves, and eventually drifted to an patch of sea wholly unfamiliar to him. Under the water he ended up coming upon something interesting: the ruined remains of some ancient vessel, half buried in the sea bed and completely covered over with barnacles. What was it? Where did it come from? How had no one found it before? Surely if they had, he would have already known about it. Inside the wreck beside little animals making it a home and trinkets destroyed by time, was an ornate bident. Though crusted with mollusks it had not rusted. Crus' eyes shined at the sight of it, and of course he took it back with him to the surface.

When he came back up to his boat he found an ambush of people from his village waiting to take him back. He supposed he'd been gone a little too long this time. Once returned home he found that his family eased up on him a bit, afraid to lose him for good. The relationship with his family had improved, but it felt like a false sense of security. He placated them more often than not, pretending to come around to the idea of being chief just to keep the peace. Over the next few years Crus merely tolerated living on the island that seemed so small now, preparing for the inevitable but looking for a way out.

And then, when news reached their little island that a Diver crew would be stopping by on their way to some newly discovered ruins, Crus fought to hide his excitement. He kept it cool, acted disinterested, but in reality this was his chance. Real Divers, the kind that explored all the world's oceans and went on all kinds of adventures, coming to his home?

What else could he really have been expected to do, besides stow away aboard the Sharkfin?

Gear
Crus has carried that bident he found for years, clinging to the little sense of adventure it brought him. In addition he also carries a simple rebreather, a small knife, and a woven bag - all things he uses while exploring. Besides that he carries some primitive beigoma, doubling both as his favorite game and as a little keepsake of Ororuel.

Name
Kaminari Kiryu

Age
18

Gender
Male

Home Sea
The Dragon Sea

Aether Sign
Sun - Lightning

Aether Abilities
Kaminari has trained his body under the martial arts of his father and Gale, learning how to use aether rather late in his training. He is the least experienced in real combat unlike the rest of the crew, only being allowed to fight if it is necessary. Gale's training has helped him create ways to use his aether to supplement his martial arts while being useful for every day purposes. As it stands, Kami is hardworking Diver with fists of steel and feet of lightning.

Lightning Skates: Lightining Skate is a unique technique that enhances the user's speed and creating unique ways to attack. More specifically, the user lines the bottom of their shoes or feet, if bare-footed, with a thin film of Lightning Aether. After the bottom of the shoe is coated with lightning, the user's speed on foot increases substantially. As a result, it as if the caster is skating across the ground. This spell holds a similar setup compared to when Kaminari enhances his limbs with lightning. Due to the complexity, Lightning Skate cannot be used in conjunction with Lightning Touch.

Lightning Touch: The most basic of techniques, but the most creative in Kaminari's arsenal. With a deep breath, Kami channels his aether into his hands/feet, casting streams of electricity around his hands/feet, thereby increasing the resulting damage when striking targets. Due to the natural effect accompanied by being struck by lightning, Kaminari can shock his targets. These shocks can potentially cause a momentary stun but, it's a rather low chance.

Lightning Tether: Shifting lightning through his hands/feet, Kaminari can touch an object, or person, leaving behind a mote of lightning, creating a tether between him and the object. The tether is solid, yet retains the property of lightning. A current is charged into whatever it touches, allowing Kaminari to change the polarity of the object, either pulling himself to the object and vice-versa, similar to magnetism. The tether cannot shock the things it touches as that requires too much from Kami.

Personality
Kami is a guy with very kind heart and pure intentions. Despite any troubles at his life, he continues to keep his smile truly alive and sincere, in order to seal the hope and strength in himself and in others. Kaminari is a protective and supportive one; even if he doesn't know how to help, he will do almost anything to help his friends or unknown-to-him and innocent people. He respects all the people that surround him, even the pirates though this respect differs from how Kami attends the usual people and Divers. He is quite polite, trying not to be rude in conversations and/or when he is in a bad mood. He is a calm individual, which can not be driven crazy or become mad easily. On the other hand, if somebody turns him up to the boiling point, then you surely can begin your preparations for the worst things ever. But, reaching the boiling point is a hard enough task. To mention other things, he is very kind and compassionate and somewhat very impressionable at someone's bad times and eventually often can not simply withstand the burden of other's troubles even if they aren't connected to him directly and he doesn't help them due to different circumstances.

History
Unlike his parents, Kami was not born in Xian, rather he was conceived upon the Dragon Sea, on a ship captain'd by Himund Gale. Kami's father, , stood proud to see his child had survived the complications of child birth. The same could not be said for , Kami's mother, had become ill during her pregnancy, her body growing weaker due to contracting an unknown disease. Despite her being in immense pain, Melia held her child tightly. Raito and Melia shed their love upon the infant, their lives finally amounting to something. Raito elected to raise his son on Gale's ship, treating his good friend as Kaminari's god father.

The life of a diver was not one well suited for a child and yet Kaminari became attached the idea of a Diver, a hero that protected the seas. Raito, and Gale began to teach the boy how to handle being a Diver, as even they knew that he would follow in their footsteps, but they were careful to never let him close to danger. The crew looked out for the boy and his ill mother, becoming a family in the meantime. A family that would soon endure a tragic loss.

The night came long as everyone slept, Kaminari running around the deck with Gale watching over him. A cannonball ripped through the ship, alarming the crew. Pirates had come to get revenge for their captain. A battle would ensue that left Gale's crew on the losing side, a ship 3x the size stood before them. Fate had deemed them a sacrifice to satiate the pirates, until Raito took action. His prowess proving to be legendary, facing them down near single-handedly. A demon of the seas, he boarded the pirate ship. He knew that couldn't escape the dreadnought, so he took it upon himself to give his crew time to escape. His goodbye was short, but he knew his family would understand, Kaminari screaming for his father. The loss was grave and not even time could heal this wound.

10 years passed after that fateful night, Kami never forgetting his father's sacrifice, but he was not the only loss that the boy would face. Melia too would eventually pass away, her body growing too weak to sustain herself. Kaminari had to face life without his parents, instead being raised by Huminid Gale, a foster father who treated the child like his own. The boy was the cusp of becoming a man, ready to face the world as a Diver like his parents before him.

Gear
Kaminari does not carry much besides the usual diver equipment. There is only three things that he keeps on him. One being a customized pocket watch that his father once used and the other two are twin katanas that are family heirlooms from his mother.