Since we can have up to two characters and half-elves were okay in the Interest thread, here are my two offerings. I hope they're acceptable? [hider=The Prince] [hider=Appearance] This laid-back guy has beady eyes the color of obsidian. His fine, wavy, yellow hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a pile of shredded paper. He's got a beard and moustache. He is tall and has an elegant build. His skin is deeply-tanned. He has small ears. His wardrobe is elaborate. [b]Height:[/b] 180.3 cm [b]Eye Color:[/b] Blue [b]Hair Color:[/b] Blonde [/hider] [b]Name:[/b] Jean-Louis "Prince" Renou [b]Age:[/b] 25 [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Background:[/b] Wealthy merchant family [b]Occupation:[/b] Navigator aboard the Maïtè D'Aboville [b]Personality:[/b] Boisterous extrovert with a relaxed, devil-may-care attitude. Enjoys the finer things of life, which led to his current changing of employment. A dandy, to be sure, but good with a blade. Confident in his abilities and with women. Cautious around ladies of high rank, lest their fathers or jealous husbands be near; and with armed women who, in his experience, tend to strike below the belt. [b]History:[/b] Jean-Louis was born and raised in Beloure at the Renou family's estate. Much of his day was ruled by routine - morning exercises with Swordmaster Corwin, late-morning riding lessons with Stablemaster Hébras, after luncheon tutoring with Brother Mikhail, then late-afternoon lessons in the arts, music, dance, and deportment with Madame Noir. He was also expected to join the men when it was time to harvest or hunt, learning well the use of bow, spear, and his father's flintlock rifles. In his youth, Jean-Louis had an interest in maps and the stars, learned the use of the compass, astrolabe, octant, and telescope. When his interests turned to girls, his mid-winter gift of a pocket telescope became very handy. However, when the stablemaster caught young master Renou in the hayloft with his daughters, his father purchased a commission for young man aboard his good friend Régis Duchamp's merchant fleet. Jean-Louis' childhood fascination served him in good stead, allowing him to rise quickly to the post of navigator, which gave him a small private cabin and allowed him to hire a cabin boy to keep it tidy and tend to his needs. But life at sea aboard a merchant ship proved to be tedious. A small sword practice session with his cabin boy convinced him his skills were deteriorating, and he longed for some excitement. And then one day they were attacked by pirates.... When he ran into them ashore, he decided it was time for a change. [b]Life Goal:[/b] To be commodore of his own fleet [b]Reason:[/b] Anything less would be boring. [b]Skills:[/b] [list] [*] Navigation - (B) Above average skill in using charts, stars, and dead reconning to plot a course to get the ship to where they want to go, +/- 5 miles. Usually capable of determing where they are if they go off-course. [*] Swordsmanship - (C) Average swordsperson. Knows the most obvious places to strike, tends to be more reactive of a fighter. [*] Flintlock pistols - (E) Below average aim, suitable for close quarters, can hit a bottle at ten paces half of the time. Maybe once out of ten at twenty paces. [*] Gambling - (D) Below average player, tends to be more reactive. Still loses more than he wins. The only way he walks out of most gambling establishments with a small fortune is to stop before losing it all. [*] Mandolin - (C) Average player, knows a selection of tunes by heart, not good at coming up with something spontaneously. Humming a few bars only works if he knows the piece. [*] Swimming - (D) Below average swimmer, can swim for a few minutes, distances of under half a mile, good at floating. [/list] [b]Equipment:[/b] [list] [*] Longsword with the Renou family crest [*] Dirk with the Renou famly crest [*] Six flintlock pistols [*] Breastplate [*] Flask of brandy with Renou family crest [*] Charts and navigation equipment [*] Small gaming chest [*] Travelling medicine chest [*] Mandolin with oilcloth cover [*] Grooming kit [*] Copper bathtub [*] A number of large, flat top trunks that hold his wardrobe/personal items, lashed together with a mattress on top. [/list] [b]Pirate Parameters[/b] [b]Strength:[/b] B [b]Vitality:[/b] C [b]Perception:[/b] E [b]Intellect:[/b] C [b]Wits:[/b] C [b]Agility:[/b] C [b]Charisma:[/b] B [b]Luck:[/b] C [i]Shiver me timbers[/i] [/hider] [hider=Aywin Genhana] [hider=Appearance] This young woman (for a half-elf) puts you in mind of a precise mechanism. She has round green eyes that are like two pieces of jade. Her fine, curly, neck-length hair is brown so deep it's like dark coffee. She is short and has an athletic build. Her skin is tanned, with various scars all over her body. She has thin eyebrows and small feet. Her ears have a rounded point. She typically wears a peasant blouse, loose breeches and leather jerkin. She doesn't have a hat, covering her head with a red scarf, and typically goes about bare foot on deck like the other sailors. She has a wool sweater and cap for cold weather, plus hose and some crude leather shoes with rope soles to grip the deck. [b]Height: [/b] 142 cm [b]Eye Color: [/b] green [b]Hair Color: [/b] dark brown, almost black. [/hider] [b]Name: [/b]Aywin Genhana [b]Age: [/b] 47 [b]Race: [/b] Half-elf [b]Gender: [/b] Female [b]Background: [/b] Commoner [b]Occupation: [/b] Cabin boy [b]Personality: [/b] Aywin is humble and hard working, almost unflappable in her demeanor. She keeps herself and her workplace clean and organized, and seems to know something is about to happen before anyone else. That her employer is unaware that she is a woman might rate the slightest of smiles. [b]History: [/b] The messenger who brought Polgara the message that her sister Aenwyn was dead also brought Aywin with them to put the newborn into their care. The rounded points of the baby's ears was a shock - her sister had given birth to a half-human child. Revenore society would not be kind to this girl. Her husband, Judge Glyberos, knowing the sort of things people would whisper, told Pol that they would treat their neice as a foundling, left on their doorstep and to be brought up by the servants. Years later, the Marquis Muleho was visiting and asked after the half-human servant girl. The judge let slip Aywin was actually their neice, only to be met with shock and anger. Muleho reminded the judge of his responsibility to family before storming off. Ashamed, they moved Aywin to her own room, arranging tutors to educate the girl. But the story soon spread, much to the family's embarrassment. Marquis Muleho reluctantly returned three years later with an ancient tome he wanted Pol to examine, and they made amends to each other for the fight. But when Muleho went to fetch the book, it was nowhere to be found. Keras and Sylna, the couple's son and daughter, said they'd seen Aywin taking it up to her room. The burned remains were found in her tiny fireplace. When Aywin denied knowing anything about the book, the judge lost it, and in his rage had the half-human girl beatened until she finally confessed, desperate to have the beating stopped. Keras and Sylna were pale and sick with horror at what their lie had done, but more was to come. The judge ordered Aywin to be taken to Oranaserine Prison, where she was to be locked up and branded for her crime against royalty. It was in prison that she learned truly how to be a thief, it being necessary for her survival. However, whatever hopes she had when was released were dashed as she was snatched up by a press gang, on the search for more people to feed the Revenore Royal Navy in their fight against the Pretender. On board the Golden Falcon, she learned how to fight with a cutlass, as well as being rotated through the various duties aboard. When they finally reached a port, the crew was restricted to the ship and could not go ashore, so vendors came out to them to hawk their wares. She picked up a fiddle, and spent many an hour learning to play it. The tunes helped ease the lives of all aboard. Fireships from the blockaded harbor at Mylmashys burned down the Golden Falcon, with Aywin one of the few survivors. When they recovered, they were briefly hailed as heroes, awarded medals, and transferred the next day to the West Wind, where as before on the Golden Falcon, she was met with much distrust. Without the fiddle, she spent her time learning the different languages the other crewmembers has picked up in their various travels. When the years-long war against the Pretender was finally won, and it seemed like they would be returning to Revenore, the captain announced someone had stolen a bejeweled dagger from his cabin. It was found in Aywin's sea bag. Despite her protests of innocence, she was marooned on a small nameless island, forced to watch the West Wind disappear over the horizon. She should have been angry, she knew, but she'd suspected something like this would happen. She managed to signal a passing ship and taken to Felan Taesi, but no ship was interested in taking aboard a branded thief. Finally, Jean-Louis Renou, the navigator off of a Belourian ship, Maïtè D'Aboville, mistaking her for a boy, offered to take her on as his cabin boy. She accepted. ---------- [b]Life Goal: [/b] To earn enough to have a peaceful lift, back in the Greenholme islands, but well away from Revenore. [b]Reason: [/b] It's amazing how much society forgives the faults of the rich. They might even forget she's a half-human. [b]Skills: [/b] [list] [*] Brawling - (C) Well-practiced with hand-to-hand fighting and the use of whatever comes at hand for weapons. Her small size helps with ducking, but her average level of strength doesn't contribute much. [*] Fiddle - (D) She knows how to play, but she's long out of practice. [*] Languages - (D) She's familiar with a lot of languages, can generally make herself understood where she goes. [*] Marlinespike Seamanship - (A) Expert in the use, maintenance, and repair of lines, rope, and cable. This includes tying knots, splicing, lashings, whippings (to keep the ends from fraying. Can jury-rig repairs to standing rigging (the lines that keep the masts in place) and running rigging (everything used to raise, lower, and adjust the sails or rudders. Expert in canvas work, can perform repairs to sails, make various bags and covers, hammocks, or shrouds. [*] Ship Handling (B) Experienced in maneuvering a ship by the use of sails and rudders, especially in close quarters situations such as a harbor, dock, or pier. Can steer and maintain a course, knows the points of the compass. [*] Swimming - (C) Average swimming ability. Can swim for significant distance and keep herself afloat in the water. [*] Swordsmanship - (A) Expert (not supernatural) swordsperson. Knows the places to strike for maximum damage, weak spots in armor, how to wound, deflect, and disarm. At penalty for taller opponents (most of the crew). [/list] [b]Equipment: [/b] [list] [*] Bosun's Call (A shrill whistle used for signaling aloft for sail changes even in bad weather, summoning the crew. The mark of a sailor.) [*] Belaying Pin (Used to secure lines in a pin rack and release them quickly, makes for a handy club.) [*] Cutlass [*] Rigging knife (This is a normal working knife whose sharp tip was broken off in the carpenter's vice to prevent sailors from accidently damaging the sails (or deliberately stabbing the officers.)) [*] Whetstone [*] Sea bag (clothes and personal items) [/list] [b]Pirate Parameters [/b] [b]Strength: [/b] C [b]Vitality: [/b] C [b]Perception: [/b] S [b]Intellect: [/b] A [b]Wits: [/b] A [b]Agility: [/b] B [b]Charisma: [/b] B [b]Luck: [/b] C [i]Bless my soul[/i] [/hider] The Prince is just a bored dandy out to have a little fun, while the cabin boy has a ton of story hooks ready to exploit. There's also the situation comedy of him being unware that his cabin boy isn't a boy, and despite appearances, she is actually older and more experienced than him. Shades Haruhi of Ouran High School Host Club and Sebastian of Black Butler. Or would she be more like Radar from MASH?