Personality

Arvin is a compassionate man, close with his crew and a low tolerance for any sort of disorderly conduct. He prides himself in his crew and his ship, striving to keep everything in tiptop shape. Devoted to his job and the sea, Arvin is determined to reach his goals - currently being one of keeping his image up. Having been a captain for a number of years, Arvin is a respected one and takes pride in the fact.

On the other side of being a devoted captain, Arvin is plagued by his feelings, often spending a lot of his nights in his cabin or in a tavern, drowning out his sorrows. Though he loves writing letters and putting his feelings on paper about the most mundane things, he's reluctant when it comes to revealing how he feels about others. Preferring to keep a stoic expression in front of others, he's not one to openly show his emotions - unless under the influence of alcohol, in which case he's more open that what he'd usually be.

When outside of a situation involving officials, his crew or other bar patrons, Arvin is an authoritative figure, preferring to take the lead in any situation. He demands respect, and is very strict about his privacy, preferring to keep his emotions close to himself and not let others in on how he's feeling. While he's usually composed, he's very close with his crew and would put himself in harms way without hesitation, if it's for the greater good of his crew.

Word count: 254

History

Arvin's parents were by no means wealthy, but the family weren't poor either. A seemingly ordinary middle class family, one a smith, the other a healer, Arvin's upbringing was pretty average. As a kid growing up near Faline, most kids had big dreams of becoming mages or being part of the Navy - all depending on whether they would turn out to be mages or not. Scuffles and backyard fights were common, a sort of tradition among the kids in the area, to test their strength and train to go to Naval School. Those who turned out to be mages, well, they were quickly sent to school in Namarast instead. Arvin never thought much of them, the mage-kids, he'd never thought to be one himself nor had his family lineage revealed any sort of hope of becoming one.

And that was okay. He'd always held a fascination with the sea anyways, living so close to it that he could almost taste it when walking the streets, and if he only wandered a bit closer to the edge of town, he'd have the pleasure of seeing the ships sailing to dock in Faline, and others going to new places. Before any sort of Naval School was even a thought, Arvin attended school - learning to read and write was important, and Arvin found a particular love for writing letters. He'd often write letters to his parents, peeking behind the door to see them react to all the mundane things he had written.

As he got older, Arvin sort of established himself the leader of the kids in the area. Whether by intimidation or his agility when fighting, Arvin definitely presented himself with quite the voice. While not necessarily the strongest of the pack, he was by far the loudest and most logical, and as such, he'd often take the lead in their organized games. And, as time approached the 17th year and time to apply for Naval School, it wasn't a surprise that he got in. In Naval School, things would be quite different. He was new, one of the youngest and not the leader of any group anymore. While his old buddies from the neighbourhood still stuck by him, the older students had more authority - and authority in general had changed quite drastically from what it was back in his hometown.

In Naval School, Arvin made sure to keep up with his writing, sending letters to his parents every week though failing to mention his bloody noses and black eyes. As he got a bit older, getting to his second year, he stopped getting hurt and instead reclaimed his role as a leader type. Though more soft spoken than previous, he'd taken on a new demeanour of authority and stoicism, as he helped new recruits and kept morale high. He'd look out for new recruits, one in particular catching his eye. A lad by the name of Ephraim, who seemed rash and quick to anger. A noble by the sound of it, sometimes angry about it being used against him, other times using it as an excuse.

Arvin couldn't really make out exactly what Ephraim's deal was, but seeing the other getting beat up by officers for offending them time and time again, he decided to step in and help the other out - even if it meant another bloody nose or black eye for him. Though he would never admit it to the other, Arvin took a liking to Ephraim - sometimes hard for him to place, and one he'd never try to explain. The two stuck together until graduation, sort of like brothers in arms, side by side. If one picked a fight, the other joined, if one got beaten up, the other would interrupt. Though he'd had a lot of close friends back home and in school, this was different. He couldn't explain why, there was just something about the other. He felt drawn to him, not to protect as such, Ephraim could hold up well enough on his own, but to simply be there. Stay.

And though he wanted to stay, to get hired on the same ship, rise through the ranks together, fate had different plans. Hired on different ships, the two slowly rose in the ranks - Arvin with the help from his high grades and Ephraim's connections. The two were close, though nothing was ever spoken between the two, no words of confirming things nor denying them, They simply existed together, and while Arvin definitely knew he felt something, it was clear to him that Ephraim didn't feel the same. Though it hurt to admit to himself, he refused to let it ruin his close relationship with the other. Sometime after their graduation, Ephraim suddenly left - married. The two kept in contact with letters, and though Arvin would never admit it, Ephraim being gone hit him harder than he'd ever expected. He still wouldn't know how to explain this feeling, and truth to be told, he was afraid to put it into words, scared of what it meant and what it'd do if he said it out loud.

Letter-writing took up most of his past time, letters to his parents as well as Ephraim, keeping updated on all that was going on and how everyone was doing, now that they were so far from each other. At the age of 37, Arvin became captain of his own ship, having risen through the ranks with help from Ephraim's connections, as well as his own hard work and dedication to the Navy. In the following years, Ephraim and him tried to keep in contact with infrequent meetings, but as Ephraim became a father, got more duties off-shore or too far from Arvin, it became hard to stay in contact. Letters became infrequent, and while Arvin at first thought it a product of being busy, a part of him feared he'd scared Ephraim away. That he'd somehow revealed how he felt, and that Ephraim didn't want anything to do with it. And before he could ever figure it out, explain or ask, meet Ephraim again, the letters suddenly stopped. He kept sending letters, yet no reply ever made it his way.

This change affected Arvin a great deal, to the point of drowning out his troubled mind with visits to the Tavern, coming home late at night. What Arvin didn't know, was that this break woke a dormant power he didn't know he had. He blamed his heavy headaches on the alcohol, being tired was just due to staying up late and getting too much to drink. The dreams of Ephraim, the Naval School, their meetings in the Tavern, the estate Ephraim spent so much time at, those were excused by a longing for something long gone. The heavy storms appearing and disappearing as soon as they had gotten there, no one questioned them further. Gone in the blink of an eye, weird coincidences, weird magic, maybe a figment of imagination.

For the time being, Arvin keeps up with his duties as Captain of his ship, the Golden Stag. In the meantime, when off duty, he'll often find himself frustrated, angry or sad. He hasn't made a connection between the shadowy crow he keeps seeing in his dreams and in the edge of his eyesight, nor the crazy storms appearing or the calm dreams followed by heavy nausea and difficulty staying awake the following day. Though a mage, Arvin is unaware of the fact.

TL;DR:

- Grows up in a smaller harbour-side town near Faline, dreaming of joining the Navy

- Enters school and becomes fascinated with letter writing, a practice he takes to heart and often takes part in

- Meets Ephraim in Naval School, who he takes a special liking to

- The two are close, yet nothing ever declared and both feeling differently. Ephraim suddenly gets married, Arvin takes the news badly.

- Becomes a captain at 37, sees Ephraim less and less until he no longer sees or hears from him at all. The sudden silence trigger Arvin's dormant mage powers, unbeknownst to him.

Word count: 1,243 - not counting TL;DR

Tempest Sleep

Costs

• Fatigue: Upon waking up, Arvin will feel tired and nauseous for most of the day, symptoms that are mistaken for a hangover by himself and others.
• Memory loss: Arvin has no memory of using magic upon waking up, and is therefore still unaware of even being capable of such things.