Insanitium Geographica

Captain Mesquite;; SandWing OC

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeee, it's the first OC!
Not my firstborn character, but it seemed fitting to give him the spotlight, since he's the Captain of this little escapade, after all.
If you would like to roleplay with this or any of my characters, or involve them in one of your characters' backstories, please feel free to pop me a message.
Please do not steal/copy this character's design, concept or personality in any way. I am aware that coincidences can happen; I won't be flaming you for creating a pirate OC, or a character with a similar personality, background or description. However, if I discover another amulet-possessing pirate with an upper-class background, I will more than likely be asking some questions.
Thank you!
- Siri Mom

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NAME;; Mesquite.

AGE;; 42 years.

GENDER;; Male (transgender).

BIOLOGICAL SEX;; Female.

TRIBE;; SandWing, purebred.

SEXUALITY;; Pansexual.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS;; Don't even talk to me he and Gio are a thing.

BIOLOGICAL RELATIONS;; Family unknown.

PLATONIC RELATIONS;; Distant, but somewhat friendly relationship with crewmates. Few friends outside the Hope (you're welcome to change that through rp, winkwink).

OCCUPATION;; Pirate - captain of the Hope It Floats. Formerly a studier of animus powers (although not an animus himself) working in service to one of the two deceased SandWing princes.

ALLEGIANCE;; None - formerly sided with Princess Burn, via association with one of her brothers. Dislikes the new SandWing queen immensely.

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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION;;
• White-golden scales; spines and tail barb fade to black (dyed).
• Black eyes.
• Slim, agile build.
• Black cloak; gold clasp with inset ruby.
• Animus-touched gold necklace inset with black diamonds.

Mesquite is a handsome-looking dragon, with pale, white-gold scales and black eyes, crested with a large, neatly-groomed array of spines. These are coloured a shade darker than his scales, and fade in a gradient to form perfect, black tips which were manually stained. His claws too are coloured in this manner, in addition to his horns and tail barb. To round off this colour scheme, he typically wears a rich, black cloak held in place by a clasp of gold, in addition to a pair of matching onyx earrings. Never seen anywhere other than around his neck is an animus-touched amulet of gold inlaid with a single sapphire stone, lined with black diamonds; this being a gift as a reward for his studies in animus law. It was enchanted by a group of animi (is that the plural of animus?) to prevent the wearer's appearance from ageing - while he will still grow feeble and may eventually die of old age, he will never look a day over twenty.
Being slender and rather slight of build, he is quite agile, although not the best in terms of strength or stamina. While possessing less muscle tone than some, he can indeed hold his own in combat, making use of claws, teeth and blades alike in order to win a fight.

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PERSONALITY;;
+ Regal, sophisticated, formal.
+ Talented speaker; exceptionally persuasive. Can become manipulative, however.
+ Hailed as a good leader.
+ Organised.

- Haughty, arrogant, proud.
- Manipulative.
- Cowardly.
- Frivolous, petty; extremely fussy. Demands a tidy workplace at all hours, regardless of condition or situation.
- Greedy, especially in terms of treasure.

With a regal, somewhat haughty demeanour, Mesquite is somewhat an enigma to those not privy to his true nature. He speaks in a somewhat accented voice, and is fond of using long and ostentatious words in order to impress more illiterate peers - these are more often than not ill-placed and incorrectly used. Somewhat like a giant black-and-gold peacock, he tends to be overly frivolous, and can be downright petty at times - especially when faced with a situation in which he actually has to act instead of speak.
Although he would prefer dragons to believe otherwise, he is in fact somewhat a coward; if faced with the choice of his own life or that of another, he would sooner slit the throat of the dragon in question than risk his own scales. He is exceptionally adept at avoiding situations he wishes to, and can manipulate others into taking his place extraordinarily well; for he is, if not many things, incredibly selfish and is considered weak by many of his peers.
Having said this, it must also be noted that he is an incredibly talented speaker; able to rally even the most downhearted of crewmates, he performs well in front of crowds and for this, if nothing else, can be considered a good leader. He genuinely takes an interest in those around him - this may be misguided, especially when around wealthy or well-born individuals - and keeps an organised workplace in which each dragon knows their place. To him, order is essential - privately, many of his crewmates consider him to be a "neat-freak".

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BACKSTORY;;
Mesquite began his life as an ordinary desert-born SandWing in a lawful family during the reign of Queen Oasis. As a part of his family's second clutch, he grew up with a large array of blood and extended relatives, with numerous cousins, siblings and aunts to fuss over him from a young age.
As a result, much of this youngster's early years were rather pampered and secure; when the news came that Queen Oasis had been killed and the War of SandWing Succession began, he was reluctant to involve himself. And so, Mesquite distanced himself from his family; while his siblings became soldiers and servants, he opted for the quiet life of a scholar, hoping to appease the demands of the army by working in the field of strategy instead. It was while searching for a field of studies that he came across the recent rumour of the three dreamvisitors, and began to take interest in the mythological animus powers? What were they? How did they work? Were any left?
Was it possible to breed them back into the SandWing line, and end the war?
A dragon a mission, Mesquite set out across Pyrrhia to study the complexity of the animus powers. As his knowledge grew and his connections spread, he found himself approached by numerous dragons possessing or interested in the powers.
He began to gain a reputation as a teacher and knowledge source; paid for his silence, he became renowned for his work. It was a matter of years into his studies before, from a group of dragons he had contacted, he received the gift of eternal youth: an amulet, enchanted to preserve the appearance of the wearer as long as it rested around their neck.
Gradually, as his popularity grew, Mesquite fell into the eyes of royalty. A SandWing prince, sister to Burn, commissioned him for his knowledge, thus allowing him to enter the safety of Queen Burn's stronghold. For years he served under this dragon's service, until by the unlucky hand of fate he was sent by his employer to lead an expedition of SandWings, MudWings and SkyWings into the Kingdom of the Sea.
While on this voyage, the news came to the now-Captain Mesquite that in a fit of rage, Burn had stricken her brother to the ground and murdered the SandWing prince. Terrified for his own safety, Mesquite attempted to go into hiding, delaying the mission and keeping the self-named Hope It Floats offshore for as long as possible.
Gradually, conditions aboard grew worse; rations thinned and dragons grew desperate. Some turned on each other in the battle for food. Others took off, braving the skies and the sea and unexplored territories over starvation aboard the ship. Their crew diminished rapidly, until disaster seemed imminent for the Hope.
By chance, the ragged crew came across a rafter of MudWing refugees. Spurned by hunger and growing fear, Mesquite ordered the crew to attack the ship. The hapless swamp-dwellers were killed, and their supplies stolen for food.
It was a bitter triumph indeed, and the first of many more raids to come. Slowly, the Hope It Floats grew wilder and wilder, the crew becoming accustomed to the ways of the sea and ocean warfare. Mesquite's initial plan of returning at the end of the war to bribe the triumphant queen with treasure slowly began to ebb away.
[ TBN spoilers TBN spoilers TBN spoilers aaaaaaaaaaa. ]
When Thorn was proclaimed to be the new monarch, any remaining hopes of returning vanished.
[ Spoilers over, you can relax now. ]
To this day, Mesquite remains captain of the Hope It Floats. A reputed menace of the high seas of Pyrrhia, he and his crew spend their days travelling from bay to bay, plundering treasure and slowly increasing their hoard for no reason other than the bitter pleasure of jewels and adornments.

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SONG;; BTSTU (Jai Paul).

D&D ALIGNMENT;; Lawful Evil.