 About AncalinzaAppearance:
Regardless of living at sea and therefore in the open air, Ancalinza has always had typical Varisian dusky skin. With large, expressive golden eyes and jet-black hair, her genes and profession have provided her with a lithe and long-limbed body. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect skin is a minor scar — just below her bottom lip – that is essentially cosmetic. She wears practical but flowing and beautifully embroidered garments of red, green, blue, and purple, and these are often adorned with strings of coins and tiny bells – as is her braided hair. She wears typical pirate clothes – a bright linen shirt, colourful canvas knee-breeches, cotton stockings and tall leather boots (although she sometimes prefers to go barefoot at sea). She also wears a crimson cape when practical (and always when ashore) and tops it off with a brown suede tricorn. She sometimes wears an eye patch – especially if she wants to look more intimidating, or to keep one eye covered and thus retain her night vision when transitioning from the relative darkness below decks to the sunlight above. Like most Varisians, she has a number of tattoos –and a large skull and crossbones across her back is the prize of her collection. Background:
Despite her parent’s more mundane careers – they were musicians in a travelling show – piracy was in her blood (even though she didn’t know it then). Travelling satisfied part of her longing for freedom, but the scent of salt air and the sounds of the sea were always enough to have her dreaming of running away to sea. She tried to stow away on board a ship every time they stopped at a port and her parents had to keep a sharp eye out for her every time they reached the coast. Music and dance are a significant part of Varisian culture – and with her parent’s profession it was only natural that she followed suit. Her mother had a song for every occasion, grand and mundane, even for tasks such as washing the dishes or building a fire. Ancalinza developed dances to accompany the song to the point that even walking on deck looks sensual and rhythmic when Ancalinza does it. Added to her natural beauty, Ancalinza finds that too many men are manipulated to her way of thinking just with a smile and a tilt of the hips – not that she’s complaining. One rainy day, Ancalinza managed to slip the leash and signed up for a rather mundane vessel, plying its trade trading along the larger rivers. But at least it was no longer on dry land. Quickly Ancalinza learned the seas of Golarion hold as many dangers as the land, with once-civilized humanoids who now ply the seas, preying on the innocent and loading their ships down with stolen treasure and weeping slaves. Ancalinza was not ignorant of the ways of the pirates. She had no romantic fantasy in her head about what they did – but then she also knew that there are almost as many different types of pirates as there are fish in the sea and she felt it odd to condemn them the way her fellow sailors did. She may have had no time for slavers but yearned to sign up to one of those icons of traditional tavern stories, sailing enormous galleons and robbing ships of their loot, murdering anyone who opposed them. This was, of course, a dream she kept to herself. Personality:
A rolling stone gathers no moss. That would be a perfect summary of Ancalinza’s philosophy in life. She lives for today. She embraces the elements (the analogy to being a sailor isn’t lost on her) and so she allows herself to be like the sails, taken wherever fate sees fit. Fighting fate causes folly – but she’s keen to remind herself that sailors invented the rudder for a reason. She never accepts anything at face value and will always look to makes up her own mind rather than blindly accepting what others tell her to do or think. She thinks nothing of speaking up and giving her opinion, particularly when it comes to selecting targets or planning attacks. And she wouldn’t last five minutes on a ship where her input was not encouraged. Ancalinza pays respects to Besmara, but might go days or months without a prayer or thought to her. But when trouble strikes and she’s got her back to the mast, prayers to the Pirate Queen come bubbling from her lips. Like Besmara, she’s slow to take sides and quick to abandon them, and cares little for laws and justice (although revenge is always an idea she can get behind). In a conflict, what matters is not who is right, but rather who has the best loot! Ancalinza’s Story:
Ancalinza found she was a natural leader on board any vessel she worked. She worked well with a variety of people and in a variety of roles. Finally she was on a ship that was attacked by some low-level pirates and found herself the only crew member alive once the smoke cleared. Her only injury was a cut under her lip caused by the whip of a man she immediately cut down. The captain of the pirate’s vessel knew talent when he saw it and enlisted her. She found she was able to organise and direct a crew with ease. And then that fickle lady called fate intervened. She was on a ship that captured, amongst others, some members of the travelling musicians her parents were part of. Rather than being shocked at Ancalinza’s presence, they told her a truth her parents had never dared share. Ancalinza’s grandfather was apparently an infamous Free Captain of the Shackles, whose very name struck fear in the hearts of those who sailed the seas in search of an honest living. So she signed on for specific voyages, working from ship to ship to learn her trade and move closer and closer to the Shackles. And Ancalinza fully embraced the philosophy of Besmara – to stir up strife and conflict where she could, the better to plunder all sides. She knows The Pirate Queen is vicious, temperamental, and greedy – but then, who doesn’t want riches and would stand on anyone that gets in their way? Finally she arrived at Port Peril and made her way to the tavern called the Formidably Maid, a notorious pirate hangout, eager to start her career as a buccaneer. Catching the eye of a dashing and handsome corsair Ancalinza decided that her career could be delayed for a day and so after a whirlwind night of booze and romance, she found herself drugged and stuffed in a sack, carried off to who knows where. Crunch:
(Varisian) Female Ranger (Freebooter) 1
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