Alderdice

Star-mad captain of a spacefaring train, S.L. the Fathomer. A smuggler by trade and worse by circumstance; longevity is not something you’ll find in xer employ, though xe’ll turn a blind eye to the backgrounds of those xe takes in.

Verity Alderdice is a patient and heedful captain, who would like to think xemself magnanimous and merciful. Xer experiences have worn xem down, and xe feels xer greatest flaw is xer weakness in the face of suffering. Xe often turns to vices to make it through a day, and xer resolve has consistently crumbled when tested. Xe has made the call to sacrifice loyal crew for the promise of momentary respite from the terror and torment. Alderdice keenly feels that guilt and grief, but will always make the choice that eases xer anguish above all else.

Xe’s certain the stars are watching xem. In xer frenzied pursuit of knowledge to make them stop looking or counter them, xe’s made xemself a target of a fiery servant of the suns.

Alderdice’s past as a zailor leaves xem with a healthy fear and respect of all the major sky-gods, but xe has a particularly fraught relationship with the Burrower Below, mother of the Aeginae and keeper of oaths. She took interest in xem early into xer captaincy. Xe is fearfully committed to her and desperate to stay in her favour, but catching her gaze for so long will only inevitably earn her ire. She is kept at bay with bargains and death, but xe always seems stumble into the full force of her wrath before long.

Xe’s typically very tolerant of xer crew’s behaviour and doesn’t like to resort to violence as discipline, but slights toward the Burrower push xem into a furious hysteria. Xer locomotive is stained ochre from dragons’ breath. The fogs often sent by the Burrower are a clear indicator of her displeasure.

Alderdice is Tackety-leaning in the Reach conflict mostly just out of a dislike for London, xe’s not officially affiliated or directly doing work for them and would prefer to keep xer head down. What Alderdice does do is a lot of smuggling of contraband that the Tacketies and other rebels just so happen to want. Xe’s also gotten involved in smuggling people; those escaping brabazon and other workworlds, via the New Street Line. This is one of the few things they can point to as an objectively moral action.

Alderdice will kill as needed, but has no love for the act. Xe’s very sentimental about death. The bodies of crew, enemies, and unknown skyfarers alike will be handled with the great respect and laid to rest, and xe will not allow graves to be desecrated. Foes who haven’t died but are otherwise unfit for a fair fight, including and especially survivors of sky-madness, are treated with courtesy and ferried to ports where they might find help.

Before the Skies, xe zailed under a captain who went by Madame Sterne. Xe was one of her favoured crewmen, known to be dutiful and loyal even as xe grew more and more dissatisfied with their leadership. Xe was their greatest enforcer, as though Alderdice was more sympathetic to the concerns of the dwindling crew, xe would not act against the captain’s demands.

Xe continued to back Sterne when the increasingly erratic captain set her mind to zailing into the Dawn Machine. When she was deposed and jettisoned, Alderdice put up a fight and was wounded before the mutineers could restrain xem. After some discussion, the crew decided that Alderdice’s past consideration for them would earn xem some in return. They settled on stranding xem in Venderblight where xe might find some medical attention while being harmlessly out of their way.

Alderdice eventually made xer way back to Fallen London, but had been so changed by xer years at sea that the home and family xe’d left no longer held any meaning for xem. So xe left, and made a new life that eventually led xem to the stars.

• Xer routes through Albion have occasionally taken xem too close to the Clockwork Sun. There’s glass accumulating in xer lungs.
• The gun xe utilizes is a sea service flintlock pistol. Xe can also fight with a cutlass.
• Alderdice spends a perhaps unsettling amount of time just starting out the stained glass windows of the Fathomer. Between the eyes in the stars, the fickle Aeginae, and the dead men knocking at xer hull, there’s plenty of reason to be vigilant.
• Alderdice has tried visiting Magdalene’s numerous times, often in some effort to find closure for a lost crewmate. Xe’s only come away with temporary comfort, fading soon after xe reboards the Fathomer.
• Xe’s attempted to conceal xer condition (mental and physical) from xer crew, but it’s increasingly plain to see for anyone who’s survived xem long enough, and xe’s got more and more to hide.