Cordelia De Fiore's page

As the daughter of a Andoran naval captain, Cordelia always wanted to see the vast rolling seas for herself, rather than just be regaled with her father's stories when he returned home. It was a wanderlust that deepened with every gift he brought her, a foreign trinket or piece of simple jewelry whose beauty was greatly enhanced by its exoticness. Unfortunately for her father, Captain Giani De Fiora, the stories that most interested her were those of the pirates he, a lawman, was sworn to fight against. The dashing swashbucklers and roguish thieves that plagued the seas, seeking treasure and glory, which seemed a more thrilling way to live than merely upholding the law. It seemed such a romantic life compared to merely being in the military, having a chain of people telling you what to do and how to live, where no matter how great you can possibly be a king will always be above you with their final say. She lost herself in sea shanties and pirate tales, keeping the interest as hidden as she could from her father.

Believing her interest to be in following in his footsteps, she easily talked her way into being taught how to fight, keeping her true intentions of feeling out her fitness for life at sea as something other than a soldier hidden. It was a curiosity, the same way magic was; her focus was mostly on her voice and what it could do to rouse spirits, and though in front of her parents she sang tales of great soldiers, in private she practiced the sea shanties and more vulgar priate songs that she kept hidden like contraband. The books and holy symbol of Besmara she kept stashed away as an act of minor rebellion may as well have been bundles of flayleaf for as much trouble as she'd have been in if they were discovered. Not that she felt much guilt in keeping them, seeing it all as rather fitting; if she did choose a life at sea, this was precisely the sort of thing that running away from would seem almost romantic.

Quick with her wits and more than able with a rapier, Cordelia certainly seemed more and more like she was preparing for a life of service in the navy, with her instructers noting that the rise of her voice certainly had a certain quality that lifted the spirit and inspired; bards who performed on ships to keep morale high during the long, isolated journies were far from unheard of, and a role that would have made her a valued member of the military. She feigned excitement at the thought, growing into a cunning and deceptive young woman, who knew how to lie and use her charms to her advantage, possessing more than just a sweet voice.

But there was no way to lie out of the announcement her father made on her eighteenth birthday, that she was to be enrolled into a navy training program under the command of one of his favoured officers, who had promised to go easy on her and ease her into a cushy role on the weight of her fauther's laurels, set to depart with him in the morning. Offensive both as a declaration against her wishes, and disrespectful of her clearly capable skills. Unwilling to stay devoted any longer to a life she only pretended to ever want, she fled that night, saying a prayer to Besmara in hopes of earning the pirate queen's acceptance and blessing in her new life of choice. What had been a curiosity and teenage rebellion more than anything had, due to her father forcing her hand, became the only lifestyle she saw any hope left in.

Every last copper she had bought her passage on a cargo ship headed to anywhere; she could have sought work in the docks district of Andoran, but her father would find her there. Going somewhere else--anywhere else--would give her space. She sang on the deck, where the sailors responded better than she could have possibly imagined to her sweet voice spinning the old shanties and barroom tales they knew so well. Few ships seemed willing to take on an eighteen year-old girl in their regular crew, but merchant ships crewmen until they could return to their home port and she would luck into a position there, spending much of her time in taverns otherwise, telling tales and singing songs, feigning experiences she'd heard secondhand, occasionally witnessing something that would make a great tale in travels.

Twenty-two and with enough ship experience to be a true seawoman rather than a bright-eyed poseur putting on airs, Cordelia stepped into the Formidably Maid, seeing it as just another tavern, one to earn a few silvers in for a night's performances, if she was lucky perhaps some work. Feeling she'd spent enough time cutting her teeth, the hope was that she would finally be taken on as a full-time crewmember, to see what a life of piracy and swashbuckling glory was truly like. It probably wouldn't happen, but a girl could dream.

Although fully aware of the gritty, unglamorous reality of a life of piracy, Cordelia is eager to experience it all, believing herself a cut above the rest and capable of becoming one of the great pirates who truly shine, to one day have deeds of her own sung by aspiring sea singers. She's fueled by a desire for freedom, carving her own path by any cost on the weight of her skills.

Her personality is warm and cheerful, coy and roguish. Part of it is her natural charm, but a large part of it is the desire to keep up morale, which in her role she seems as a major job of hers; perhaps by endearing herself to future crewmates, she could forge connections and alliances that would be of use to her. Not that, on a dime, she could not burst into fury or tears; she's a skilled actress and liar, with sharp wits about her, which she knows to be her greatest asset. However, cunning as she may be, the way that she romanticizes a life of piracy, paired with her youth, makes her a little more foolish than she likes to admit she truly is.