Caradir
Born with the child name Quarro or 'Rustle' to a band of spring elves on a small wooded island near Greckos known (to the elves who were its only known speaking residents) as Tuellyn, his earliest years were mostly peaceful, learning the ways of the woodland animals, and the bow. Every so often, the elves would hide their presence, cowering like dogs in the shadows, to avoid the pirates who sometimes landed on their shores - deathly afraid that one day the pirates would learn of their community.
This fear was well placed, as the band was slaughtered almost to the last by avaricious pirates when Quarro was barely 8 years old. He and a few other children survived as captives taken as slaves for mainland buyers, but Quarro - always a deft climber - managed to slip their grasp and climb the riggings of the slave ship and then, when cornered on the crow's nest, leaped to freedom in the rocky seas near the port.
Washing ashore and finding himself free but alone in an unknown city with no experience of "civilization", he spent his next decade fighting for scraps in the poorest bits of a harsh and lawless town, where the walls seemed more a prison than a safeguard. But he learned to survive, and even thrive to an extent. He was taken in by Toralo, an upstart alley boss with a network of urchin pickpockets, but made a point of secretly keeping some portion of his profits from each mark. When Toralo discovered his stash he flew into a rage and attempted to strangle him, but Quarro put a dagger in him, stolen from Toralo's own boot. When he searched Toralo's desk he beheld a treasure map to the legendary Goldsire's Hoard! Unfortunately, the Thieves' Guild sent assassins to Toralo's place before Quarro had even finished ransacking the office. He put down two assassins and fled for his life.
He stowed away on a ship bound for Brevane, and nearly made it the whole journey without detection until the quartermaster launched an investigation into missing foods. He was then thrown overboard immediately, but when he appeared back aboard and clambering through the rigging as if it were second nature, the amused crew decided to keep him on as a good luck charm, and possible aid. He began to learn the pirate's trade.
In and out of Brevane, he sailed on many a ship - some even with legitimate business! But even those brought dangers that he learned to prepare for. He learned the ways of the sword and pin, but always the bow was his weapon of choice. Combat was a contest of survival. Why let another get close when you can kill him from afar? For reputation, he took the name Caradir, the name of a famous elven lord of legends from ages past, as his own. He cut a deal with the captain of his ship for double-share of spoils if he could get them to a good bounty. Out with the treasure map and the vastness of Goldsire's Hoard was theirs! Some retired, but Caradir used his to buy the ship from the captain. He renamed it the Cerberus, and styled himself the Raider "Bloodshaft". Many of his most trusted companions joined on and the days were grand.
In building his raider empire, he was forced to wage war with a rival pirate lord who made it her mission to undercut his leads and spoil his raids. Bloodshaft led a mission to locate and loot their secret warehouse in Brevane, but while there he met the most perfect creature the gods might have created, if they existed: the elve maid Eralieth. She was robbing the place blind single-handed, with a bound pony tail down to her knees. They came to an arrangement (of which Bloodshaft's friends swore she got the better end) splitting the loot and he took all the heat for the heist, which softened her a bit. They had a sordid affair for a very brief time until she learned he had no proper given adult name as an elve, and was but a child. She would be attached to no such male as her family was well-connected and established as a merchant empire. Caradir decided he would change her mind, but so far to no luck.
The merchant houses of Brevane were powerless to stop his raids for years. Many feared the biting arrows of the dread Bloodshaft, and his range included all the isles of Greckos. After a long search he found Tuellyn, but only ashes remained of anything he may once have known there, and he was surprised it stirred nothing in him, and he could barely remember anything of his family. The past was dead. He sailed on.
But the past was not dead. The thieves' guild of Greckos, known as the Ashen Crew, took the stance that Goldsire's Hoard was theirs by right, since the map was theirs before being taken by Toralo, before being taken by Caradir. A long campaign ensued and culminated with a drawn-out battle on the seas with many twists and turns. In the end, both ships were burned to ashes and Caradir took a fire bolt to the face - he fell from the deck and knew no more until he awoke floating in the ocean with no survivors in sight.
He found his way to shore once again and began the work of starting over, yet again. He still had contacts in the trade, and he had no small reputation. He signed on with a new ship and began to do well enough that word got around that Bloodshaft was back....
The Thieves' Guild came for him again. They cornered his ship, boarded it, slaughtered the crew, burned the boat, and took him captive, bringing him back to Greckos. On arriving, he slipped his guards and managed to sneak straight back onto the same ship that had borne him there. When they were duped into thinking he was headed back to Brevane on a different ship, they immediately set sail with intent to overtake him, but instead merely delivered him there themselves, where he hid with a friend until he could sign on as first mate on a ship bound for Kyneslund. This time he used only the name Caradir.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Allies:
Berros Halfwind (N human male ftr (pirate)) fun-loving, greasy, missing teeth & curly dark hair. Loyal to his friends & always up for a spot of trouble. Never loses in Three-Card Cyclops. Last seen in Greckos. Eralieth (NG elf female sorcerer (merchant princess / thief)) Knee-length black hair you could drown in, emerald eyes and a strong nose. A powerful lady who knows what she wants and is "uninterested in elf males who have not come of age". But she respects talent and Caradir knows she will come around. They have crossed paths on many occasions in work-related capacity, and in other capacities before she knew Caradir's age. Last seen in Brevane, with her family and connections. Enemies: Ashen Crew - Widely-connected thieves' network operating in southeastern Thrask.
