Indigo Amethyst

Indigo Amethyst is a male skunk born in 281 ADD in the fishing village of Arowana's Wharf on the east coast of the Northern Empire. He was cursed by a witch to have good luck with the expense of bad luck to those around him as punishment for his mother's attempt at stealing from her. He would eventually become a travelling rogue that used his curse to help others behind the scenes.

Personality

Indigo is a very cautious and shy skunk who worries about his curse being used to hurt those he cares about, so he tends to keep it a secret from others. But he is also very loyal, and though he may have trouble sticking up for himself, he often finds himself being a voice for those who are unable to speak up. He is crafty, and will often use his curse to take advantage of crooks and other people he feels are corrupt, which occasionally lends himself putting on a facade of smooth-talking confidence. But he is never in it to be wealthy, he only ever uses the money to survive or to help pay off his sister Lavender's debt.

Abilities

Indigo's curse allows him to stay relatively unharmed during conflicts as his luck makes it so his enemies have a harder time defeating him. The bad luck effect it has on others also means they would be at an even bigger disadvantage. If he does end up losing a conflict, his good luck means the situation will turn out in his favor in the end.

He is very skilled in playing card combat, using his gold-tipped deck as makeshift shurikens.

He is knowledgeable on many card games, and is able to keep his poker face throughout.

His passion for tinkering makes him knowledgeable on various machines and electronics, which he can analyze to work in his favor or repair if needed. 

As a skunk, he can spray defensive musk, though he has never applied his spray in any situation.

Design

Indigo has mainly blue-indigo fur, with fluffy white hair that runs down to his shoulders and a white belly beginning at his chest. A white stripe starts at his forehead and runs down the length of his snout to his black nose. His paws and feet are also white, giving the appearance of socks. His eyes are cyan, and the insides of his ears are a light blue. A single white stripe runs down his back to his rear. An indigo spade design covers the top of his large fluffy tail, leaving the rest of his tail white.

Attire

Indigo's standard outfit consists of a brown fishing tunic and lighter brown slacks. A faux-leather satchel and belts strap over his tunic where he keeps his playing card deck. Around his neck he wears a purple neckerchief made out of his sister Lavender's fur, with white spade designs running up one side. Over his tunic he wears a long black cloak and a red scarf. He also always has his blue cybernetic visor which comes equipped with environmental and weather data analysis capabilities and vital monitoring systems.

Story

Beginnings of the Curse

Prior to Indigo's birth, his mother Zisa Amethyst was caught stealing from the home of a tiger witch in the forests outside of Fuyou Zhong, the city along the nearby coast. The witch insisted Zisa must be punished for her crime, but the skunk was able to convince her not to harm her as she was heavily pregnant. The witch agreed, however she instead chose to place a curse on Zisa's unborn son, as a reminder that her actions must still carry consequences. As per the deal, no harm would befall Zisa's child, bestowing upon him a natural attraction to good fortune, at the cost of bringing misfortune to those around him. The curse's effects began early, as Indigo's birth was a very painful process for Zisa, however the young skunk was born in perfect health.

Early Life

Indigo grew up in the fishing village of Arowana's Wharf, a subsection of the Eastern Colony Fuyou Zhong. He lived on his family's houseboat with his mother, father Lan, and older sister Lavender. In order to protect the village from his curse, Indigo was homeschooled by Zisa, although he would often accompany his father on his fishing missions as well. When he was ten years old, he met a fennec fox girl who introduced herself as Marina Cyanic. Her family had recently moved to Arowana's Wharf looking for work. She quickly took a liking to him, though their time was cut short as a driving-by carriage splashed Marina with muddy water, who then had to go home to clean up. And though Indigo was glad to have a friend his age, he began thinking more about how his curse affected those around him. After talking with his mother, he finally understood why it was so important to keep his curse a secret from those outside his family--Fuyou Zhong was home to many corrupt and scheming characters who would use his curse to give themselves an advantage over their rivals.

When he was twelve, Indigo took an interest in card games, and soon found he was very good after repeatedly besting his family members. Zisa realized how his curse helped him despite his skills, and proposed to Lan that they use it to make extra money by betting on Indigo in tournaments. Lan disapproved, saying it was dishonest to take advantage of a village that was already falling apart. Zisa understood, but on Indigo's thirteenth birthday, she gifted him with a deck of gold-tipped playing cards she had bartered for in the Black Market.

Red Dragon's Fortune

A year later, Arowana's Wharf was under heavy pressure from the banks of Fuyou Zhong to increase fishing output to the city, but increased development had left the waters around the Wharf too polluted to meet their quota. Lavender soon learned of a cache of fish on the junk Red Dragon's Fortune owned by rat banking director Xing Jiao. The cache would be enough payment for the fish they would need if they sold it to the Black Market. She, along with Indigo, successfully infiltrated the junk and learned the cache was in fact only one fish, an arowana, otherwise known as the Red Dragon Fish. Once it was traded to the Market, the fisher's loans had been paid off.

A few days later, Indigo met up with Marina on the docks. She revealed she knew he and Lavender were the ones who had carried out the heist, to which Indigo asked how she had found out, when they had made sure the truth was not revealed to anyone outside the Black Market. Marina confessed she hadn't known until Indigo had just confirmed it. She then told him she dreamed of being an investigative journalist one day to figure out how corruption worked in the city. Indigo soon realized how much he admired her.

Disgraced Family

Indigo would call Marina's skills into use a year later for the murder trial of Lavender Amethyst. Zisa had learned of a rumor regarding Xing Jiao and questionable business dealings that would damage the fishing industry of the Wharf. Suspecting Jiao would hire pirates to attack the Wharf's fishing vessels during their trips and claim the losses on his insurance, Zisa had Lavender accompany Lan on his latest mission. The rumor was confirmed when pirates boarded Lan's junk, and though Lavender had stopped them, she had been forced to kill Director Jiao in self-defense. But Jiao's guard and the city did not see it that way, and Lavender was put on trial for his murder, claiming she had successfully carried out an assassination attempt against him. During the trial, many of the court officials had also done business with Jiao, keeping them biased against her despite any evidence she had.

Knowing she was innocent, Indigo and Marina set out to find proof of Jiao's illegal business dealings. They visited several of his contacts, eventually coming across a series of correspondence between Jiao and the bull captain of the pirate ship La Noche Séptima, which detailed the Fisher's Union vessels he had instructed them to attack. Indigo and Marina brought the correspondence to the court, but as Lavender had also killed the pirate captain, there was no way to prove she had not planted the papers beforehand. Lavender was found guilty, and for her sentence she was given a choice: to be executed or to be banished from Fuyou Zhong and Arowana's Wharf with a large bounty she was to pay back. She chose the latter, leaving the Amethyst name officially disgraced by the state. With their family name tarnished, Lan's relationship with the Fisher's Union became strained, and he soon saw himself on less and less missions.

His Own Path

Indigo was now 18, and with his family nearing bankruptcy, he decided to begin looking for a way to clear Lavender's debt and rid himself of his curse. Marina had made a small name for herself since Lavender's trial three years earlier, and had a new mission to investigate. In the dusty backwater town of Ariton, far to the southwest in the Redrock Desert of the Northern Empire, a group of religious fanatics called the Reborn Mystics was forming, claiming to be on a holy mission to eradicate the Empire of sin. A few residents of Arowana's Wharf had recently disappeared, and evidence suggested they had left to join the Mystics. Indigo said goodbye to his parents, explaining his goal to them. Lan tried to persuade Indigo to stay, as there was much honor in fishing, but Indigo insisted it was something he had to do.

Not too much later, Indigo and Marina arrived in Ariton, under the guise of weary travelers searching for a place to rest. There, they found an inn run by someone Marina suspected of being a member of the cult. They asked the innkeeper about the cult, who denied its existence, until Indigo's curse caused him to inadvertently reveal they were having a meeting soon in the nearby marsh. Marina's quick thinking convinced him that they were looking to join, to which he then directed them to a spot in the marsh where the Mystics held their induction ritual.

That night, they met with the Light, a coyote who guided the rest of the Mystics, claiming he had been chosen by the universe to lead their world to the Light at the End which would absolve the universe of sin. At the induction, the Light explained that in order to become part of the Enlightened, they would need to abandon their identity and personal attachments. This meant renouncing their names and destroying all items relating to their identities. For Marina, the Light instructed her to destroy her backpack, which contained all the evidence she had gathered against the Mystics. In order to stall, Indigo volunteered to go first. As the ritual began, the Light asked why the skunk wished to abandon his identity, to which he confessed his past as someone whose family had been disgraced, and by abandoning his family, he would no longer live in shame. To start, Indigo was instructed to burn his neckerchief, which had been woven out of Lavender's fur and given to him before she left Arowana's Wharf, but he was unwilling to cast it into the fire.

Indigo hesitated long enough that his curse caused Marina to stumble as she was hiding her journal. A hare and former citizen of Arowana's Wharf in the Enlightened suddenly recognized the fennec, revealing her as a journalist who would expose the Mystics to the Empire. The Light, not willing to risk all he had built, explained to Indigo that Marina must die, and lit a ceremonial dagger using the fire. The Enlightened dragged Marina over to him, and as he prepared to strike her down, Indigo whipped one of his gold-tipped playing cards at the Light, which hit the dagger and knocked it out of the Light's grip. The rest of the cultists armed themselves with stakes from the fire, surrounding Indigo and Marina. Indigo did his best to ward them off with his cards, but one cultist managed to burn a large gash on Marina's arm. In order to save her, Indigo retreated, and together they were driven to a cliff's edge. But before they were pushed over, Indigo heard the rush of a cargo train passing by below, and jumped.

On the train, Indigo got Marina bandaged up, but he knew her burn would need immediate medical attention. He blamed himself for what had happened to her, and though she assured him it wasn't his fault, Indigo had to reveal his curse to her, saying that she only got burned by being around him. And after telling her the entire story of how the witch cursed him, Marina pointed out his luck was what allowed them to escape, by being on the cliff as the train arrived. Despite their fortune, Indigo decided the longer they stayed together the more Marina would be at risk. After dropping her off at the next town, Indigo stayed on the cargo train, traveling east without her.

A Focused Purpose

The train stopped in many settlements as it made its way east. Indigo took the opportunity to learn more about the rest of the Empire, discovering many of its citizens had fallen on hard times during the war with the Sur Kingdoms to the south. Eventually the train arrived in Grand Concentra City, the largest city on the planet and capital of the Northern Empire. Indigo found a place to stay behind a tavern in the lower districts, offering his card skills to the panther bartender in exchange for his living arrangements. At the tavern, he made his keep earning money for the bartender by betting in card games. Over time, many regulars to the bar became familiar with Indigo, and he soon was recruited by a few locals to become an informant around the city. For the next year, he used his curse to benefit the poor and downtrodden, exposing scammers and outing corrupt Authorities.

One day at the tavern Indigo was approached by a cheetah and a green kangaroo. The cheetah challenged him to a card game, to which Indigo accepted, expecting him to be just another patron who thought he was too young to know how to play. But his luck and expertise at cards had him win three games in a row, angering the kangaroo, who accused him of cheating. Indigo denied the claim, but the cheetah suddenly took an interest in the neckerchief Lavender made him, and drew his sword. The cheetah claimed to know who Indigo really was, swinging his sword at the skunk's throat. Indigo dodged his attack, quickly brandishing his gold-tipped deck and pinned the cheetah to the wall by his jacket. But Indigo hadn't foreseen the cheetah's skill, who quickly slipped out, flipping the skunk onto his back.

Reaching down to help him up, the cheetah revealed he knew Indigo was Lavender's estranged brother, and introduced himself as Hunter Pantone, her business partner. Vert Greene, the kangaroo, then apologized for his hostility as Hunter continued. He offered Indigo a place in his small Resistance to expose corruption in the city, citing that Lavender had spoken fondly of him, and that she was in the city not too far away. Indigo wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his sister, but he knew if Lavender was to clear their family's name, he couldn't let his curse interfere. He accepted, but decided it was better to stay on his own at the tavern, reasoning that since he was closer with the locals, he could more easily monitor the news around the city. Hunter understood, and gave Indigo means to contact him and Lavender. After Hunter and Vert left, Indigo was glad he knew where his future was headed. Eventually he would find a way to rid himself of his curse, but before that, he decided to give Lavender a call.

Relationships

He is very close with his sister Lavender, though life circumstances have kept them from seeing each other.

He is still close with his parents Lan and Zisa and contacts them often.

He is best friends with Marina Cyanic.

He is somewhat of an apprentice to Tango Zoronado, learning more creative ways to use his curse on people.

Trivia

-He loves doing card tricks and playing card games. His good luck gives him an advantage in any gambling situation.

-His cybernetic visor has prescription lenses, as skunks generally have poor eyesight.

-His favorite food are honey dumplings, which his mother would often make for him.

-His scarf is colored red as red is the symbol of good luck in his culture.

-As a tinkerer, he loves taking machines and devices apart.