Lhinneth Silvertide's page

Kepre Dua. A name that means many things to many people. For some, a promised land. For others, the whispered hint of unearthly delights. The heretical dream of a madwoman. And then, there are those who rumour of twisted ideals of racial purity, and of the horrors visited upon those who would dare taint it. For Lhinneth, it was simply home.

Or better, it would have been, if Lhinneth wasn’t born a half-elf, and the rumours weren’t chillingly true. Her mother, a Calistrian priestess, never knew if it was carelessness or her deity’s displeasure that made her pregnant with child after a spur-of-the-moment tryst with a human sailor on board a Thuvian vessel anchored in Alendruan Harbor for repairs (for no-one but elves were allowed to set foot on the island and live) – but she knew all too well what that would mean for her daughter as soon as she had given her birth: death by exposure if she was lucky, or being groomed through her puberty years as a sacrifice in the mysterious ritual known only as ‘Calistria’s Whisper’ is she was not.

Luckily, the services of an experienced priestess of the Savoured Sting are always in high demand in the Shackles. Nearing labour, she fled to the nearby Motaku Isle, where the sacred hetaerae of the House of Stolen Kisses were quick to set aside a bunch of boring theological differences and welcomed her as a long lost sister. Lhinneth’s early years were happy and carefree, spent between the loving care and teachings of her numerous aunts and daring escapades through Quent’s wharfs and roofs. However, it was soon clear that it was the latter activity that the young girl’s heart favoured, as she would spend increasingly long periods of time away from the temple, raptly listening to old pirates recounting their tales and getting into fist-fights with other gangs of similarly aged children. So it came as little surprise that, the day of her eighteenth birthday, she hesitantly announced her mother that she would not take her vows, and instead depart from Quent on the following tide to pursue a life of adventure on the high seas. What proved quite surprising, at least to her, was her mother’s reaction. Instead of showing her displeasure, she kissed Lhinneth tenderly on the forehead and blessed her in the name of the Savoured Sting. ”Calistria teaches us all to be true to ourselves and ourselves alone. You shall find your path in life just as I found mine when I left Kepre Dua. Besides” she added with a somewhat amused smirk on her face ”the House of Stolen Kisses has little use for a courtesan who would rather punch a man than lie with him.” With that, she had already bidden her farewell, leaving a befuddled Lhinneth muttering something about the merits of make-up sex.

By then, even accounting for her late half-elven puberty, she had blossomed into a fully-formed woman, and her boyfriend at the time was a dashingly handsome Garundi young man by the name of Jakuuri Rhet. Like her, he had a past as a street urchin and big dreams to command his own ship one day. They boarded a ship in Captain Fairwind’s fleet and never looked back at Quent’s harbour fading in the distance – and for the three following years, she shared his bed by night, and his battles by day. They sailed from port to port, switching ships as the opportunity arose, and earning their living through guile and swindles when it did not. She perfected the part of the naïve cabin girl who could turn deadly at a moment’s notice, and he of the bookmaker eager to take bets against the drunk half-elven girl who had just spilled her ale over the tavern’s resident hulking brute. All was good.

Of course, the thing about swindles is that it only takes a bad one to make all the previous ones go to waste, but such wisdom is often lost on a young lover’s mind. And when it finally comes, it is usually learnt the hard way. As their luck finally failed them in a sordid tavern on Port Peril's waterfront, a trapped and cornered Jakuuri offered Bartolomeus Thorne, Free Captain of the Shackles, the only thing of value he had left. He offered Lhinneth, and quickly fled into the night after he had brought them to where his lover was unknowingly sleeping.

Outnumbered and caught unaware, the fight was short and the outcome predictable. Upon waking up from the beating they had given her, she lost count of the times she had called Calistria’s vengeance upon him; but once the bitterness receded, she realised her goddess only rewards those who would take matters into their own hands. What started as basically enslavement, she soon turned into an opportunity. Though a simple cabin girl, it only took a couple of well-placed kicks to teach the other sailors the consequences of touching her without her consent. Then, the way she almost danced on the highest lines made her a rigger, and her fierceness made her a pirate. Eventually, she became the Captain’s lover, confidante, and ultimately, second-in-command. And when after two years spent raiding Chelish trade routes aboard the Flowered Gambit she finally went her own way, pursuing her vengeance, she did so on amiable terms, as they shared a last, long, intimate kiss.

Picking up Jakuuri's trail in Port Peril, it didn’t take her long to find her former lover – or at least, what was left of him, in the form of a tale of a foolish boy who, mad with grief and remorse, tried to steal a sloop to pursue her lost love, and got unceremoniously cut down in the process. Suddenly, her revenge tasted hollow and meaningless. Uncertain about her future for the first time in her life, she boarded the first ship back to Motaku, stopping in the small port of Lilywhite on her way to Quent.

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 118 lbs.
Build: Slender and athletic
Eyes: Green/brown, with golden flecks
Hair: Black, long and flowing
Skin: Tanned
Clothing: Thigh-high leather boots sporting an elaborate pattern of buckles and straps; short red-dyed silk skirt; lacy, richly embroidered leather bodice worn over a light, long-sleeved linen shirt concealing a mithral chain underneath; feathered tricorn
Age: 24 years

Standing at 5 foot 7, Lhinneth manages to cut a rather leggy figure, mostly courtesy of the elven blood flowing in her veins. Years spent jumping from mast to mast have gifted her with an athletic yet slender physique, something she learnt to put to good use as she perfected her fighting style focused on graceful feints and quick attacks. Sharp Garundi cheekbones mixed with softer Taldane features thrown in for good measure make her face mostly reminiscent of her human heritage, with slightly slanted eyes and pointed ears the only tell-tale signs or her mixed ancestry.

Her choice of clothing treads a fine line between the practical and the ostentatious – two seemingly opposite qualities which nonetheless manage to enhance rather than hinder each other, for Lhinneth soon discovered how easily a well-dressed woman is discounted as a threat. Indeed, a long-sleeved shirt of the finest Osiriani linen worn under a tight-fitting, exquisitely embroidered leather bodice highlighting her narrow waistline conceals the imperceptibly light mithral mails of a chain shirt, while a short silken shirt leaves her legs free to spring in a sudden leap or a well-placed kick at a moment's notice. A pair of gold-filigrained, strapped boots goes all the way up to and well above her knees leaving her upper thighs as the only exposed part of her body – the pattern of well-toned muscles darting under the smooth, sun-kissed skin among the very few hints of her not-so-innocuous nature.

Lhinneth left Motaku a girl, and came back a woman – in the 6 years that passed, she has loved, was betrayed, loved again, sworn vengeance, and found forgiveness. Yet, much of that girl is still alive and well in the half-elf adventurer's persona, the unbridled lust for life, the impetuous recklessness, the ever-present thirst for new adventures. Be it through a well-phrased taunt or a swift pre-emptive stab, she'd much rather initiate a situation than passively suffer it; and once she's stepped into the fray, she's far more likely to make up a course of action as she goes along than to have things planned ahead, confident that her quick wit and fighting prowess will seize victory for her, or at least give her an escape route if they don't.

Born and raised within the Savoured Sting's church, as far as Calistrian go she can be considered a pretty unconventional one. First of all, she's only had two lovers in her life, and secondly, since it's mainly the Goddess' celebration of unlimited personal freedom that resonates within her, above and beyond all the other aspects of her cult. Indeed, after discovering her former boyfriend's tragic end, she has found it difficult to bear any grudges for too long, and though she can still be quick to ire (particularly when she feels personally insulted or betrayed), it seldom lasts beyond sunset or horizon. In her years aboard the Flowered Gambit, she has taken up the worship of Besmara, and the Pirate Goddess' name has recently begun finding its way more and more frequently on the half-elf's lips, especially in times of duress.