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Appearance[]
Physical Appearance[]
Varkaz stands 6'1" and, while not exactly muscular, is built for fighting. His blonde hair falls just past his shoulders, trimmed to rarely enter his sight while fighting. Several small scars can be seen on his face, mostly on his right cheek. His nose has obviously been broken many times. Varkaz's hands are softer than one would expect a fighter's to be, because he rarely if ever removes his gloves when fighting or working. A long and wide purple scar runs horizontally across his stomach. On his left forearm is a tattoo of a gnome's head. On his right forearm is a tattoo of a cog.
Apparel[]
Armor[]
When going into battle, Vark wears gear all of red leather, and a golden cape. Throwing knives are strapped to his boots and arms. Two daggers are sheathed at his waist, and two curved shortswords across his back. On his belt are various leather and cloth pouches hanging all the way around his waist. The pouches on the back of his belt contain lockpicking and engineering tools. The pouches at his hips are for trinkets and other items of interest that Vark collects during his travels. Each pouch on the front of his belt has a powder of some sort within to aid him during battle and otherwise.
Casual Clothing[]
When socializing or just in public, Varkaz ethier wears a twill suit, or he can be found in his usual white silk shirt, linen pants, and black boots. Vark's often seen wearing green or red goggles. A scimitar usually hangs from a black leather belt at his waist for show.
Pre-History and Into Birth[]
Parents[]
Silvermoon Serial Killing[]
Pirate Admiral Thelux Silverfoot, a skilled sailor and fighter, commanded a fleet of four pirate ships of various make around the time of the business boom of the Undermine. Drawn to the massive amounts of money contained within the goblin capital, Thelux took off with a group of ninety or so other races of the Horde, including some goblin, ogre, and gnoll mercenaries. There were eighteen to twenty-six pirates on each ship.
Before leaving Kalimdor, where Thelux had lived most of his adult life, he tried to convince his current girlfriend, young Lantrea Amberheart - who was currently living in Quel'Thalas with her family - to come to sea with him. Lantrea wished to do so, but her parents forbade it. Lantrea and Thelux were both angered, and Thelux delayed sailing plans to pursue a plot to murder Lantrea's folks without being caught before he left.
A goblin merchant from Booty Bay was staying in Silvermoon at the time, and had become notorious as a violent fellow to those who frequented the Silvermoon City taverns. When Thelux learned of this, an ingenius idea struck him. Just nights after his arrival in the city, Thenux snuck out of the inn he was staying at and found the goblin's camping site in the woods. Thelux slit the goblin's throat and took his knife and cap (both of which had become well-known in Silvermoon), rolling everything else (including the corpse) up into a bundle, tying it together, weighing it down, and tossing it off the north-western shore of Sunstrider Isle.
Thelux returned to the city quickly, with only a couple of hours left before dawn, and used the goblin's knife to kill Lantrea's parents. He left the weapon buried in her father's chest, and dropped the stolen hat in the doorway to the Amberheart household. Lantrea and Thelux quickly left the city and returned to their main ship, the Ghoulbreaker, which was ready to take them out to sea.
The Original Silversail Fleet[]
The group of pirates Thelux commanded was called the Silversail Corsairs, though their sails were usually just black with one or two blue stripes on each one. The fleet of ships used by the pirates was referred to as the Silversail fleet. It consisted of the following ships:
- The Ghoulbreaker | Captain at that time: Pirate Admiral Thenux Silverfoot himself | First Mate at that time: Kaz the Goblin Rogue
- Sapphire | Captain at that time: Mosdero the Half-Elven Mage | First Mate at that Time: N/A
- Stormchaser | Captain at that time: Raeyun Fireweaver | First Mate at that Time: Jazhrun the Ogre
- Looter | Captain at that time: Captain Azhalen | First Mate at that Time: An experienced gnoll mercenary, unknown name
The only other woman amongst the Silversails at the time was a woman known as "Red," a slut who worked as a cook on the Looter.
Birth[]
The day the Silversails were to sail for the Undermine, armed and ready to fight, Lantrea realized she was pregnant. Even after being informed of the pregnancy, Thelux did not want to delay any longer, and so he told Lantrea that she was coming with them and they were going to raid the Undermine even if their baby had to be born in the midst of a battle at sea for it to happen.
And that is precisely how Varkaz Silverfoot was born. After arriving at the Undermine and fighting for months, often just waiting out in the open waters to attack or be attacked, Lantrea Amberheart gave birth to Varkaz aboard the Ghoulbreaker during the fifth battle of the venture. Undermine troops were lined up on the Savage Beach of Kazan, firing missles at the ships as Silversail cannons fired back at land, three ships surrounding and protecting the Ghoulbreaker, where the Pirate Admiral's son was being born.
Outcome[]
The Silversail - Undermine Battle went poorly for the corsairs, who were forced to retreat when the goblins started targetting the Ghoulbreaker.
Early Childhood[]
Raised by Wolves... on the Sea[]
Varkaz Silverfoot was raised by the Silversail Corsairs as a whole, not just by any one member of them, though his caretakers were mostly Captain Azhalen (of the Looter) and Captain Raeyun Fireweaver (of the Stormchaser). Vark was brought up around so many drunks that his very first word was "rum," which greatly amused the crews of every ship, who called him from that point on "Rum Boy," which was quickly shortened to "Rumby," because that was how it was pronounced when drunk, so why not when sober? Rumby was a nickname that wouldn't leave Varkaz until he took command of the Silversail fleet.
Vark was transferred from ship to ship, and when in battle, whichever ship the Pirate Admiral's son was on was protected. The corsair infant was loved by all, and the crews of the ships often argued over who got the next turn with Rumby. Varkaz rarely saw his mother, who was nearly always sick in her cabin, and his father didn't want much to do with him.
Inadara[]
Red, the Looter slut, became pregnant and gave birth to an elven son two years after Varkaz's birth. Because Varkaz was still the favorite of most of the Silversails, Red's son, Inadara, was largely neglected. Varkaz, though, was thrilled to have a friend, and they stayed good buddies throughout their entire childhoods.
When Inadara (nicknamed Dara) and Varkaz were ten and twelve (human years) (( YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW, HUMAN YEARS, BLAH BLAH BLAH )), Red died of natural causes, though those causes were never discovered. Inadara was sheltered by the crew of the Looter after that, and Dara and Varkaz only ever saw each other after that when Varkaz was on the Looter as well.
aww, eez a weedle paiwat!!11!1!1[]
Fighting[]
By the time Varkaz was 14 (h/yrs), he could outspar most of the Silversails. Azhalen, captain of the Looter, taught Vark to fight, and Varkaz, in turn, trained Inadara.
Kaz[]
A major event in Varkaz's lifetime happened during this period. The Silversails met with a slave-trading crew on an island in the Lost Islands annually to trade more money than would usually be paid for a whole bunch of slaves for just a single one, the fittest one Thelux could find, and that slave would be adopted into the Silversails as a member of one of the crews. The slaves were terribly-fed and taken care of. Whenever this meeting happened, all the Silversails and the slavers would go inland some to drink and dine for a night (leaving the ships completely and totally empty) before settling the deal the next morning. On one of these events, Varkaz was sitting against a rock on the beach while a bonfire burned a few dozen yards away, just thinking, as he often did. He happened to look up as a short, shadowy figure was crossing directly in front of him, completely silent, with a sack slung over his shoulder. He was headed towards the slave ship. Varkaz caught a whiff of fresh meat in the bag, and when he looked up to the head of the figure, a mask fell down from around the face to reveal the first mate of the Ghoulbreaker, a goblin rogue named Kaz. Kaz winked at Varkaz, a wink the elf would never forget, and continued on to the ship to deliver the food to the slaves on board.
Aruzo[]
During this time, a male Blood Elf two years older than Varkaz started being noticed in the ranks of the Silversails. Nobody knew who he was or how he arrived on the ships, and few questioned his strange appearance, for they were simply embarassed about not knowing a member of their own crew. The man finally stepped forward and claimed to be the eldest son of Thelux Silversail, his mother apparently being Lantrea's younger cousin. He said his name was Aruzo.
Aruzo simply wished to live the life of a pirate. He'd had no experience in battle before, nor did he know anything about ships, and he couldn't even cook, but Aruzo wished for adventure in his life. He stayed on board with the Silversails for two years, during which time Thelux became a severe drunk, drinking more each week than half of the smallest crew did in a month.
Aruzo, when he was eighteen (h/yrs) and Vark was 16 (h/yrs), had been living with the corsairs for some time. He'd decided he disliked battle, despised it even. He started reading books written on holy subjects and by well-known and respected priests and paladins, and decided he wished to return to Quel'Thalas and become a holy priest, and so he did, without saying good-bye to anybody with the exception of Varkaz, who he had not even been that close to.
The Battle at Stormwind Harbor[]
When Varkaz informed Thelux of Aruzo's departure and the reason behind it, the Pirate Admiral became angry. He wanted to go back to Eversong Woods and order his oldest son back onto the ship, back into the life of piracy, but the nearest land was Stormwind Harbor. Thelux didn't care. He wanted his son to return, and he would make him if he had to, but by sea would take far too long. Pirate Admiral Thenux Silversail ordered the corsairs to attack Stormwind Harbor, the most well-defended port in all of the Eastern Kingdoms.
By this time, the Silversails had another ship, Guttz, which was captained by the old first mate of the Stormchaser, Jazhrun the Ogre.
The first ship to fire at the harbor was the Stormchaser, with Captain Mosdero of the Sapphire casting defensive spells around it as his own ship took up the rear. Guttz fired immediately after the Stormchaser's first shot, and collapsed a guard tower on the harbor, killing many and causing the harbor guards to spring to action. Cannonballs were shot back and forth, though the only ship that was hit was the Looter, which instantly sunk, killing nearly all the crew on board (Inadara, luckily, was on the Ghoulbreaker at the time). The Stormchaser and Guttz were able to stop close enough to the docks to allow the crews of both down. Most of the pirates now on the land retreated, until the Pirate Admiral himself fired a cannonball down at the end of the docks from the Ghoulbreaker, slaying a few of his own men. He yelled down to them, "Be slain be the humans or you'll be slain by the Admiral!"
The Sapphire anchored next, and their crew was more eager to fight than the previous two. The corsairs charged into the humans, killing many, but the Silversails were greatly outnumbered. The Ghoulbreaker was now sending people out to fight, but Inadara and Vark had been ordered to stay aboard. The two managed to sneak off, though, anxious for battle. They hid under the docks, hacking the legs off of any Stormwind guards that were running by. Varkaz occasionally charged out to impale the closest guard with his shortsword, but then he'd retreat again to the shadows of the docks.
Meanwhile, Thenux was drinking and shouting orders from the Ghoulbreaker, which had stopped firing at the harbor, or anything else for that matter. A few corsairs realized the battle was hopeless when Guttz and the Stormchaser were set fire to by the humans. The very few members of the Sapphire crew still aboard their ship retreated, firing an occasional defensive shot at the harbor. They anchored next to the Ghoulbreaker, and half of the remaining pirates on land stayed to fight, while half of them swam back to the ships. Inadara and Varkaz were among the retreaters.
Twelve Silversails made it back from the battle alive, of the hundred plus that started the battle. The Sapphire and the Ghoulbreaker sailed side-by-side for about a mile. All the while, the crews of both ships listened to Thenux scream at Lantrea, blaming her for everything that happened. Finally, Varkaz decided to go in to intervene. He picked up a blunderbuss from the deck so that his father might be more likely to listen. But as Varkaz entered the cabin, he saw Thenux stab Lantrea in the head repeatedly with a dagger. Vark lifted the gun and fired into his father's chest. Thenux's last words were: "I shot 'er dead, son," accompanied by a grin.
A New Pirate Admiral[]
Remix![]
After killing his father, Varkaz was now in command of the Silversail Corsairs. There was not a single surviving Silversail who did not approve of their new leader. The first thing Varkaz did in his new role of authority was provide medical care to all those aboard the ships who were injured during the battle. Varkaz, while a fighter at heart, found he had a far too benign nature to kill only for wealth, and so he gave the corsairs another thing to sail for: fun.
Vark set up jobs aboard the ships that hadn't been in place previously. There were tailors and fishermen and blacksmiths and entertainers and healers. The corsairs sailed from place to place, seeking to trade for money rather than fight. They learned of battles in far-off places between two small factions, battles that didn't mean much to the rest of the world. The Silversails would intervene, decide who was in the right, and fight for that side.
They could hardly be called pirates anymore, but the name "Silversail Corsairs" stayed. Eventually, though, all the crew members but Inadara and Varkaz himself were dead or had left to build a better life elsewhere.
Varkaz got somewhat sick of life on the sea. He'd never been on Kalimdor or the Azerothian continent before, besides Stormwind Harbor, and he was curious. Varkaz finally decided to visit Quel'Thalas with Inadara, for neither of them had ever before seen the homeland of their people.
The REAL Beginning[]
(( This is where in Varkaz's story I actually started playing, and so everything from here on out will be things that were actually played out in character. This is also where Varkaz's life gets real f*cked up, and will continue to go that way for a while. ))
The New and Improved Silversail Corsairs[]
First Impressions[]
The first place in Quel'Thalas that Varkaz and Inadara decided to pay a visit to was Sunstrider Isle. They'd heard it was an unofficial tradition amongst the Blood Elves of Quel'Thalas for mercenaries and soldiers looking to make a living or train to start there. When Varkaz and Inadara arrived, a group of orcs was in the area. They'd set up camp in the mountains on the north end of the isle, and frequently came down just to harrass the guards at the Sunspire.
Varkaz and Inadara befriended these orcs and stayed with them, more comfortable with their rough way of living than that of the Blood Elves they'd so far encountered. Varkaz was, however, disappointed in the orcs. Harrassment? That's all they were up to? Why no thievery or trickery or brawling? Even pranks would be more satisfying than verbal assault. The two elves presented their views to the orcs band, and all were agreed to have a little fun.
The group set about mugging training Blood Elves, luring them into areas where the innocent elves stood no chance, and really just raising hell. Varkaz, Inadara, and the elves were promptly banned from the Isle.