Francis

Francis is a free spirit that both yearns for the sea and quickly tires of it. There is nothing better to do than what he is not doing at the moment. Using dashing good looks and the natural tongue of a liar he has charmed his way into many a lady's chambers and helped himself to their husband or father's wealth before he left.

Never a man to be held in one place, Francis now finds himself as captain and owner of the Balinger he christened Spearspoint. It is a fine ship and he has a mostly trustworthy crew, but like a wife it is always nagging and keeps him from doing what he wants to do when he wants to do it. Maybe one day he will sell her and move on, but for now he is enjoying the freedom of the seas.

Francis was born in the town of Stonereef in the year 416. Like many people on the Tarakian Islands, Francis had a love for the sea and soon joined the privateers that operate out of the islands. Over the years he acquired a young man named Claude who served as his lackey. Why Francis kept the young man around was always something of a mystery, but Claude did have a wide array of talents and enjoyed fawning on Francis (who loved the attention). It was that Francis' ego and his desire for an ever greater amount of silver that landed him in the town of Freeport. This was his first taste of a large continental trading city and he was hooked. It seemed like all of those creature comforts that he had to do without were available cheaply in the town's markets.

So, when the Running Wave pulled out of port it was shy two crewmen who decided to seek their fortunes on the continent. However, Francis had little skill other than as a ship hand and so it wasn't long before the two were broke and resorting to petty theft to feed themselves. Then a stroke of luck hit them when Francis saw a beautiful young lady being accosted by thieves. Normally he would have simply passed by the mugging, but he was in a good mood and so with his best performance lept between the woman and her attackers. While the thieves tried to get past him, Francis kept them at bay with his sabre while he insulted them with a wide range of words he picked up over the years. Finally, the two men tired of being insulted and charged — Francis neatly finished them off and turned to the woman with a hero's flair.

Well, it turned out the lady was fairly well-off and after paying Francis a substantial thanks for helping her she invited him and his dogsbody back to her house for dinner. During the dinner Francis spun a series of wildly fanciful stories of his life at sea. While Claude occasionally tried to interject some truth a few well-placed kicks under the table were enough to dissuade him from speaking up again.

Within a month Francis had become a bodyguard for many of the town's monied ladies. In new clothes his natural charm oozed out and his foriegn accent marked him as an outsider. He became the talk of the town and with his sword skill to back up him it wasn't long until the muggers knew to simply stay away from anyone he had sworn to protect. The life was good, the food plentiful, and the silver rolled from the hands of ladies — but still Francis began to lack of the adventure and crossed blades of his youth. Bidding ado to the wonderful women of Freeport, Francis and his lacky Claude continued their travels.

Francis is a man of decent height with a good build and quick flashing smile. His dark blonde hair hangs to the lower part of his shoulder; although he prefers to keep it braided back or pulled up. He favors a great deal of jewelry and piercings, which only enhance his status as an outsider among the people of the continent. For clothes he prefers purples, blues, white, and yellows — especially in large flashy shapes. He is rarely without his sword; although he is smart enough to know when it is best to leave it behind.

Claude's dark black hair, square jaw, and high brow betry his Dakarian heritage. With brown eyes and a clean-shaven look he could easily pass as a peasant from just about any village in the northlands. However, it is his accent and speech pattern that causes him the most problems in blending into any society. Like most workers, Claude prefers stout wool clothes with extra padding and stitching at the knees and elbows. If given a choice he will mimic Francis's colors as Claude recognizes his master's far superior taste in clothes.