Severin Lapointe

Severin is a little goofy, a little lazy, a bit of a dork, generally good-natured, but also generally a pretty average human being. Kind of clever, too, but no genius. Prone to bouts of pessimism and scathing sarcasm, especially when he's stressed or when things are going horribly, terribly wrong again.

He's friends with Absalom, the chronically self-sacrificing captain he loves very much, so things are usually going horribly, terribly wrong.

Severin's not fond of danger, and surprisingly willing to take shortcuts to get out of danger again, even if his methods aren't exactly fair play. If he has to shoot somebody in the back to keep one of his people from even potentially getting stabbed, he'll do that, no matter how much more gentlemanly it would've been to give them a fighting chance. Severin's no hero - he's the poor sod who's constantly trying to save the hero's ass. He's also pretty much the "Reasonable Humans Reaction" counterpart to Absalom's eternal stoicism.

Sev prefers his friendships with lots of friendly snarking and witty banter - he's quick to poke fun at people's flaws, but fully expects them to poke back - yet he never aims to hurt, and his jibes are usually pretty tame. He spent his entire childhood having a friendly sibling rivalry with his twin sister Andromeda, whom he still secretly misses, which may explain some of it. If asked, the younger crew members, in particular, would describe him as "a little like a best friend's cool older sibling" - until he eventually turns into "the dad friend" to complement Absalom's "mom friend" status.

Severin (and his twin sister Andromeda) was born in a little town way up in northern Coversano near the coast - it's a pretty popular tourist destination, very scenic and ~whimsically old-fashioned~.

His childhood was happy - he had two happily married parents working either at or very close to home and were always pretty well off, financially speaking (not stinking rich, but living very comfortably); they were generally pretty chill, extremely warm and nurturing, and generally just really sweet and full of love for their kids and their kids' friends and pretty much everybody else, too (and they're still alive and happily married and along the way they turned into adorable old folks with a yard full of cats and a fondness for inviting people over for coffee and a nice game of bridge).

Severin spent most of his childhood wandering around outside with the family dog (and occasionally his twin sister, whom he loves dearly although they are constantly bickering) pretending to be a great adventurer and generally just being a kid - occasionally he'd go around town and run errands for the shop keepers in return for trinkets and candy, just because getting to talk to people seemed like a good time and most of them were family friends, anyway.

Then, when he was ten, Severin and Andromeda were both recruited by the Royal Magical Academy - not terribly unusual; many of Sev's family members were mages: rumor has it that those with white hair have a particular talent for magic... but then again, the hair seems to run in a handful of old mage families, so maybe it's all just gatekeeping.

Severin wasn't too fond of spending the rest of his youth in the capital on the south coast, but he wasn't particularly unhappy, either: he had his sister with him, which made things easier, they and his parents stayed in constant contact and remained uncommonly close despite the long periods of separation, and the whole 'learning magic' thing was pretty fun, too. 

Severin was never one of the Academy's best and brightest - he lacked the working attitude and an interest in theory and science - but he had a talent for destruction magic and was generally quick-witted and competent and there was a war on the horizon, so they suggested a military career to him, and he didn't protest loud enough, and that's how Severin became a battlemage.

He didn't actually mind the hard training and he enjoyed the sense of community the magical special division gave him, but the rigid structures annoyed him, and he was never very fond of the actual 'fighting and killing people' bit. Still, he rose through the ranks quite nicely...

... and then his entire division was practically wiped out during a battle, he was left for dead and pretty much managed to drag his was back to civilization about a week later, half-dead. That battle had also completely fried his magical abilities - he can still do magic, but it hurts like hell, he can't keep it up for very long, and he knocks himself out for a considerable amount of time if he overdoes it. Not a very good combination for active service, so they made him retire... except they can still use his expertise, so he frequently trains new magical recruits in return for a pretty hefty bonus. Severin figures nobody can keep those kids from joining up anyway, he might as well make sure they're prepared.

Somewhere along the way (he must've been around 19 years old), he met a dashing naval captain called Absalom Hayes and fell in love pretty much instantly. He never actually told Absalom, but they became very good friends and stayed in contact until Sev was declared MIA and presumed dead for a bit and Absalom lost his ship and they lost sight of each other. The main story starts off with them finding each other again.

Severin's old - must've come up with him in 2008-2010, but then didn't do terribly much with him until... huh, 2015 or something thereabouts.

I used him as an antagonist for the precursor to Equinox a few years back, but Sev refused to stay more than very, very slightly morally grey, and then I accidentally started shipping him with Absalom, and that was that.

• Squishy Wizard: To a far lesser extent than others, but still...
• Cast From Hit Points: Too much magic can really fuck you up - both casting it and being hit by it. Actually happened to him to an almost unprecedented extent, which fucked up his magical powers for good.
• I’m Having Soul Pains: Some kinds of magic can cause this.
• Power Strain Blackout: Using too much magic, as mentioned, is all kinds of NOT GOOD.
• Mystical White Hair: Born with it due to magical shenanigans, but he himself isn't nearly as mysterious and magical as the hair would imply.
• Beware The Nice Ones: Hint: don’t fuck with people he cares about.