Tougher than hardtack and salted...mystery meat, or whatever it actually was that they used to stock those navy ships with rations, the young Calyn was the product of what, put bluntly, had been a hard life...or as hard as a twenty year old life could be for a lass born on the coast. She is a scrappy southpaw, a nimble adversary and a deadly swordswoman, always willing to give as hard as she got.
Calyn's messy light brown hair is often bound by a crimson bandanna, and there are always scars, bruises and scuffs that mark an otherwise attractive body. She has a thing for fancy silken clothes, often with a plunging neckline and a form-fitting bodice, as well as jewelry, now eager to indulge herself in the feminine niceties she had to endure without for so long. Over these, she wears tough leathers to protect her body and said clothes from...most of the trouble she runs into. She still manages to wear them out quite quickly though, and ends up with a set of raggedy shirt and breeches with the cloth patched and ripped in quite a few places.
Calyn had always been the type of girl who was...well, one of the boys in her childhood. So it must have been quite an understandable mistake when some overworked piratical press gangers lurched drunkenly into her little out of the way fishing village, and mistook her as a suitable candidate for cabin boy. For one thing, besides, with all the rest of the actual boys of a similar age having been slain trying to fight for their lives alongside their fathers, there was an acute shortage of such candidates for these stealers of young souls. Dragging the crying "coward" of a "lad" from "his" mother, they immediately bombarded poor Cal's sense of smell, breathing a splendid variety of foul vapors into her face, as they swore, cussed and spat at "him", promising to turn their new cabin "boy" into a proper "man".
This toughened her up as a sailor, giving her the hard work ethic every sailor must have to survive at sea. However, they also passed on a headstrong, tough and abrasive nature, which always earned her respect, but deepened a sense of hatred for those around her for, though each day made her look more and more like a lady, she acted more and more like the men she lived with, brawling, drinking and working with them. Some people she eventually sailed with started to view her as a pampered princess, being treated better by the captain than anyone else. But Calyn never did care what anyone else thought, and aloof and feisty as she was, she didn't much care who threw trouble her way. She could deal with it...
Taken in by pirates at a young age, and not by her choice, Calyn soon learned the dialect and the work of a pirate, being very diligent as...well, punishment awaited her not being so diligent. She also came to the realization that...keeping her gender hidden was a must. Seeing the fate of all the elder...and some younger...women that fell prey to the insatiable appetite of just about every pirate, Calyn knew she needed to escape before her own body started to blossom into womanhood, and she lost the ability to pass for a smooth-faced "lad".
She had a bit more time than say, a human would in her predicament, thanks to the slight amount of fey blood in her veins, retarding the aging process of her body. But how? She had no clue, and the conundrum was too much for the little child. She eventually gave up any schemes, and resigned herself to her fate. It'll be a while longer before she was old enough anyways.
Eventually growing a little older, she grew to take duty as well of lookout and sailmaker. The pirate crew was falling on hard times, and had lost a lot of members to more successful bands in Port Norsby, as well as the do-gooding naval vessels from other, more organized kingdoms and nations that prowled about, trying to curb piratical activities. Cal had, despite her age, become a senior member, having become one of the more veteran and canny fixtures, among the young swords for hire their captain kept hiring to keep up with losses. Soon enough, the band fell apart, and Calyn though she was free...But then disaster struck, shaking her out of simply waiting and seeing for her chance...
For, in Port Norsby, Ol' Copper Eyes is a legend. The scourge of the seas. The most ruthless yet apparently tender hearted pirate in the known world. If the legends are to be believed he has been around for well over 200 years, raiding and destroying where no other dares. The legends may well be true thanks to his elven heritage, but what really stands out is his brown eyes, so dark they look like burnished copper and provide him with his name. His ruthlessness is legendary, when Ol' Copper Eyes attacks no man can expect to live nor any trace of them found. Indeed it is only matched by his tenderheartedness, for he forbids harm to women and children. Often they are found, well supplied and cared for, after a raid.
Every few years Ol' Copper Eyes appears in Port Norsby and recruits a new crew. To be recruited into Ol' Copper Eyes' crew is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he recruits only the best and shares plunder fairly. A curse because like his victims, his crew are eventually never heard from again. No one has ever left the crew of Ol' Copper Eyes and lived to tell of it.
It is into this situation that Calyn was thrust. After several years masquerading as a boy, and proving herself as a pirate, she was recruited by Ol' Copper Eyes. Unwilling to put herself in a situation guaranteeing her doom, yet unable to escape the "recruiters", she found herself press ganged again as part of the crew. She vows boldly to do the impossible and escape when she could.
Several months past and she witnessed first hand the recklessness of Ol' Copper Eyes as he attacks target after target. Almost killed in one of the attacks, she confirmed her oath to herself, and at the next stop for provisions she leaves the ship. Fortunately the stop is Port Norsby, and she runs for only place she'd felt was safe.. Monk's Bottom, her old hometown...at least, as far as she could remember.
She lives day by day, looking over her shoulder, never knowing when or where Ol' Copper Eyes will show. All she knows is that none have EVER left his crew and lived to tell their tale. But who knows...there was a first time for everything.
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Note: That's a small L in my username. Not a capital I.
Yes, I know I'm behind on a lot of stuff. Continue to expect very sporadic activity until April 23. NPC as necessary.
02-14-2010, 04:03 PM
