Ankita B. Vatsala
Ankita B. Vatsala
A mapmaker and oceanographer living and working in the Kolokolou ocean.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Growing up in the pirate town of Bulun, Ankita was surrounded by adventurers and sailors from a young age and it was inevitable that she should ultimately long to join them. As a child, she was enamoured by the world she saw her town pass by and chafed at being prevented from swimming out to nearby islands and reefs. Instead, she hunted down information about the 'driftwood world' with a singleminded purpose, voraciously consuming tall stories told by inebriated pirates and the books they left behind. Seeing her interest and enthusiasm, she even received some well-intentioned but sporadic attempts at formal education from former naval officers. As soon as she could convince a ship to take her, she left home to explore the the scattered islands and the deeps of the Kolokolou ocean.
Raised without regard for laws and taboos of conventional esaana culture, Ankita often found herself alone or in the company of scoundrels. A liason with a member of the Abyssal Guard left her, barely an adult herself, raising a daughter on her own. Ordinarily, a young mother would return to the support of her family, but Ankita simply saw it as another challenge, and continued her explorations of the oceans with her child in her wake.
Education
Best described as sporadic and sensationalised, Ankita's education lacked any formality and the adults she was surrounded by were a bad influence at best. She is passably literate and numerate, knows little about classical physics or politics, and nothing of history.
The main focus of her education - such as it was - was in navigation, oceanography, marine biology, and seamanship. She is not entirely self-taught in the art of mapmaking, having left Bulun at 14 and studied under the navigator of the pirate ship Unicorn. She stayed with the Unicorn until it was sunk during a battle with the Kihran Navy, after which she struck out on her own.
Employment
Ankita supports herelf and her daughter through mapmaking, treasurehunting, and poaching. She tags along with trade caravans to sell her maps and her finds, making enough to support her next expedition before disappearing again. Her maps are considered works of art, intricately detailled, accurate, and highly sought after.
Morality & Philosophy
Ankita will do anything she needs to in order to protect her family and fund her adventures. She makes temporary alliances with pirates and fisherfolk alike, even if she was stealing their treasure or poaching their catch yesterday.
Despite this apparent immorality, Ankita operates a pirate's code. She can be relied on to keep her promises and trusted not to betray a confidence. She's fair in her dealings in trade, never steals from someone she's allied or working with, and refuses to cooperate with agents of the law.
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