Tãrvisãri of Cotto (TAaAr-visAari)

This article contains graphic depictions of violence.
Reader discretion is advised.

Captain Tãri Visãri Cotto (a.k.a. The Shark of Cotto)

"Tãrvisãri is a psychopath with a history filled with mutilations, disembowelings, decapitations, and slaughter. He is visibly disappointed when his victims surrender and don't hide anything, because he has to come up with an excuse to hurt them. But he's smart, so he always finds one. In other words, my lord, we need a bigger escort"
- Lucretia Lignago, captain of the Vivanessia Gloria, detailing expanses

Tãrvisãri of Cotto is a Maha'kan of the Shorsh à Cotto and the captain of the E'lassa'r'd. He's notoriously cruel, even by mahak'an standards, an approach that has proven itself useful; most sailors surrender as soon as they realise they are being attacked by the notorious Shark of Cotto.

Mental characteristics

Education

Tãrvisãri is a prodigious saifer; he was born with an innate talent and affinity for spellcasting, honed by training and tutoring since his early childhood.

Social

Family Ties

Unlike most members of the shorsh who join as adults, Tãri was born into it, making him one of the few individuals whose lives were held dear by mahak'ani. As such, he's the only mahak'an known to ever risk his life to save a fellow Cottori he holds dear.

Burial at Sea

In 1568 his biological mother, Casãsh of Cotto, was captured with her ship by a Berrinian naval force, and failed to scuttle her ship before being captured, hanged, and left to rot on display in the Agaman Bay. In response, Tãri, leading his crew and three other, began raiding Berrinian coastal towns and villages in order to find Casãsh's corpse and give her a proper burial at sea.
During these raids Tãri brutally tortured civilians, especially free cities officials, extracting as many information as he could; when he gathered everything he needed, he continued torturing his victims and demanded they tell him jokes or bedtime stories. None of his victims were killed, but all of them were permanently crippled. This lasted for two weeks, when the body was found and properly buried.

The Shark of Cotto

In 1570 The Free Navy attempted to lure Tãri into an ambush by executing one of his fathers, Visãri of Cotto. However, by nothing short of a miracle for Tãri, a crewman of the E'lassa'r'd visiting the city of Caeris overheard officers discussing the plan in a tavern and was able to glean the two most crucial details - place and time. Laying a preimptive ambush, six Cottori ships and their crews, assisted by saifers and wenfers, submerged boulders and raised sandshoals along the navy's course to Nick's Grotto. As the ships began running aground, the shorsh launched a coordinated and devastating assault that earned Tãri the moniker of The Shark of Cotto amongst the Free Folk; when the battle was over, eight navy ships were completely unsalvageable and not a single ship was lost by the mahak'an. Ironically, one of the dozen or so pirates who died in battle was Visãri himself, with Tãri promptly renaming himself as Tãrvisãri as a last act of honor.

Social Aptitude

Though Tãrvisãri does indeed care for Cottori, the same cannot be said in the slightest towards his victims. Though most cases of surrender end without violence, it is far from guaranteed.

"Their mirth and their anger had much the same effect, for both were usually gratified with the cries and groans of their prisoners; so that they almost as often murdered a man from the excess of good humour, as out of passion and resentment; and the unfortunate could never be assured of safety from them, for danger lurked in their very smiles."
-Dieguito de Vallego, an escaped Sesaniese captive, on Tãrvisãri and his crew

Violence against non-combatants

Sailors and passengers aboard civilian vessels that are smart enough to surrender are relatively safe from Tãrvisãri's sadism, though those who attempt to hide their possessions might experience his expertise in torture.
Graphic Description

His most favorable techniques include boiling the victim's lower body; searing orifices with heated metal; or tying a rope around the victim's head until their eyes are forced out.

Violence against combatants

Combatants, be they soldiers or security, are always killed in a slow and excruciating manner. Tãrvisãri and his crew's definition of combatants is in line with the rest of Agam'an society, where combatants are those who assault or fight back; those who do not drop their weapons; those who refuse any orders given by combatants; those who prevent entry from combatants to anywhere, or otherwise limit the movement of combatants.
Graphic Description

On one occasion where a Caerisian merchant ship fought back and lost, Tãrvisãri had his crew hoist each of the four security personnel up the yard arm and drop them back down to the deck, only for another of the four to be hoisted and dropped after him. This was repeated several times until all of them died, with the crew placing bets on who will die first.
An investigation by agents of the Pacificatores revealed that this method of execution is almost always chosen as it curbs other forms of gambling amongst the crew.

Violence against prisoners

The worst fate that can befall The Shark's victims is being captured by him. He never, without exception, kills prisoners on purpose. Instead, they are held on to, commonly sold to a third party as slaves or for ransom. The least fortunate, however, are kept as slaves. Such slaves, as Agam'an tradition dictates, are released within swimming distance from shore after a year of servitude.
Graphic Description

On many occasions, such prisoners were mentally and physically traumatized, being subject to forms of torture such as being forced to eat glass and/or ceramic; having melted candle wax forced down their throat, nose, and ears; slicing off facial features and extremities; various forms of humiliation and sexual abuse. Ironically, most slaves admit to have been properly fed, never being overworked, given ample sleep and having their injuries tended.

Current Date: 2^nd of Latsum, 1572

A wanted poster for Tãrvisãri issued by the Free Cities Board of Directors and the Estrerran Navy.

Current Location

Agaman Bay

Currently Boarded Vehicle

E'lassa'r'd

Species

Human

Ethnicity

Agam'an

Professions

• Maha'kan
• Saifer, Wenfer

Year of Birth

1548 AC 24 Years old

Gender

Male

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tanned-dark

Owned Vehicles

• E'lassa'r'd

Aligned Organization

Shorsh à Cotto

See also:

• Known Pirate Operations