Volturio Levinus had been on this ship for nearly 3 years now. At his fathers request, his uncle Brothar had taken him seaward for 12 months and taught him every aspect of running the merchant ship for his fathers company. The following year had seen Voltario running the ship himself while his uncle was never more than a shout away if he hadnt learned everything as fast as he had thought. The final year, up to now, saw the merchants' son running the ship himself while his uncle captained the newest vessle in his fathers merchant fleet. He had progressed exceptionally well in that time but he found that he never feelt quite 'at home' on the water, he needed the permanency of solid ground beneath his feet.
the merchant swashbuckler was the third generation of his families business, his grandfather had solidified the original market space, in Taldor, two generations ago with deeds done in service to the crown at that time. These stalls in the market district, due to Taldors' growth and its centralized trading location, would likely be impossible to reaquire so his father had spent several decades maintaining relations with the noble family and associates in the upper class of Taldors' citezens. Volt wasn't assuming his fathers role yet but he knew what was planned for him. So far, in the last year, with the new found freedom of running his own ship, the new shipmaster had established new trade agreements with suppliers from even further away than the generations before him had managed to secure. In his mind, the further goods came from, the harder it would be to have other stalls in Taldors' market distruct become his direct competition. Securing these contracs, and the routes back and forth to transport the goods, took more finessing than expected; mercenaries, theives and pirates were the usual barricades but Volt had, so far, managed to secure safe routes for his ship through several necessasary trade routes.
Both generations of his family that had come before him were staunch supporters of Taldor and all its glory. As far back as he can remember, his grandfather had always been of the mind that Taldor 'wasnt what it used to be'. For most of his life, Voltario had taken this as the usual reminissence of an old man, unable to accept the changes in the world around him. Now that his father was getting older, he too sounded more reminescent of 'better times'. It wasnt until Volt had run his vessle for a time that he too saw what was happening to the Taldorian scene and understood what the generations before him were aware of. Taldor was losing power among the ruling families in the area and the political situation within the walls was threatening to tear her apart. this would be bad for business.
It was a combination of his families history in Taldor, the formed relationships he both maintained and acquired, and his uncanny ability to transport items in and out of Taldor without notice that had drawn the attention of Martella Lotheed. By far, the swashbuckler knew more of the woman by reputation and ruhmor than personal experiences though he had come through for her on several occasions. Regarding this woman, his father had stressed to him that he must 'stay on Martellas' good side'. So far, he judged that he had managed to do just that, and though he had no idea why, he assumed that was the reason she had gotten him an invitation to the Exaltation Gala. He could tell alreadty that he would have to sort this one out as he went along.
