In the dead of night, the skies blazed a heated blue. Smoke as black as a raven's feathers banished the clouds, covered the moon, and wherever one sought sanctuary, a sickening stench would follow like the hand of death itself. As if a steady drum were beating, the march of armored soldiers flooded the streets of Werlyt's quaint towns, and in short order, brought each to their knees - another link within an endless chain of conquest and order.
This was the world of Colm's childhood. After successfully liberating themselves from Garlean rule, Colm's native homeland of Werlyt found themselves beneath the angered eye of the Empire's forces. In retaliation for the rebellion, the imperial army marched on Werlyt's capital, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. For most, it was a nightmare in the making, but a fortunate shield protected Colm and his family from the worst of the war, and the worst of the occupation that followed.
Colm's mother had once been a renowned violinist within one of Garlemald's premiere theatrical troupes prior to an unfortunate diagnoses that forced her into an early retirement. His father, on the other hand, while Werlytian, was a world renowned luthier supplying stringed instruments for many of the finest orchestras across the star. It was their reputation and stature which offered a modicum of relief for his family during the conquest... And thus ensured Colm's inevitable indoctrination into the ethos of the Empire and high-society within Garlemald. To say the least, it did not garner him particular favor from his native peers in Werlyt.
This was long ago, he would say. Before he'd grown to be Colm Mcguinness. Before his world had changed. When he was still known simply as Caelum Ventis.His family's history afforded him a great deal of privilege, from unique opportunities to mingle with Garlean aristocracy, to admittance into one of Garlemald's esteemed boarding schools.He spent much of his youth travelling between Garlemald and Werlyt to attend educational programs that would groom him for a life of honorable service within the Imperial army.
While his education took him far from home, he savored his breaks from school and his time with his family in Werlyt. His time at his parents' side was spent being surrounded by the world of music, art, and literature from across the star, the likes of which he became an avid advocate and connoisseur of during his adult years.
When he came of age, then Caelum enlisted in the Garlean military as a specialist in the maintenance of Gunblades and advanced weaponry. Much of his early career as a military man was spent trailing from Castrum to Castrum, far from the fields of combat. It was a droll, mechanical life characterized by a strict regiment and even more strict rules, the likes of which he desperately sought an escape from when monotony began to plague his waking moments. He found such an escape as a volunteer for war efforts in maintaining control throughout Garlemald's provinces, travelling as far as Yanxia over the course of his service.
During his service, a series of events shifted his perspective on the Empire's conquests: notably, he became unlikely friends with a covert resistance agent dedicated to ferrying information between the occupied provinces. Through this contact, he became privvy to the breadth of their brutality, and the true history of his homeland's occupation, eventually dedicating himself to the same cause as his unlikely friend.
Accepting the first opportunity he could find to make his way back to Werlyt, to lend his aid to his homeland's resistance, he settled into the life of a miner within a cereleum refinery located in the petite town of Timber. There he spent years ferrying information gathered from the endlessly rotating roster of provincial workers and soldiers to the Werlytian resistance, and consequentially to the provincial resistances abroad. For his efforts, he was known as the Canary in the Cereleum Mine, simplified into 'Canary'.Over the course of his involvement with the provincial resistence efforts, he took on increasingly dangerous commitments. He graduated from informational transfers to the smuggling of refugees out of Werlyt through an underground port utilized by the resistence efforts. Precisely how many men, women, and children he ferried from danger is difficult to count, and he would be the first to say that he never bothered to keep track. The number never mattered, only that he was successful.
Unfortunately, a life lived upon the edge often comes with the risk of a sharp cut. His smuggling efforts drew the attention of higher ranking Garlean officials within the province, and, after a series of intense round ups of resistance members serving near his cereleum mine, he fell onto their radar and was consequentially branded 'Caelum viator Ventis', a traitor to the Empire.
He was given over to the banners of sky pirates - the Bloody Falcon and his crew, the Fate's Threads. In exchange for his services and expertise, they would host him aboard their crew, and thus he could hope to disappear and avoid the ire of the Empire's gaze to live another day. The moment he boarded their crew, he said goodbye to his life as Caelum Ventis, burying the name and his old life with it. He then took up the moniker of 'Colm Mcguinness', a variation of his name combined with a popular brand of ale.
He went into hiding with the aid of a small fraction of his resistance allies. However, he could not hide forever, and his presence presented greater danger to the overall operations of the liberation efforts. As death was looming over him, and options for salvation grew thin, he was met by a young woman, a pocket of sunshine, renowned for her own efforts in ending the Empire's brutality against those left under their banners. She became his last bastion of hope, orchestrating a rather complicated effort to extract him from Werlyt and beyond Garlemald's reach.
Ever since, his life has been tied to the Bloody Falcon, his crew, and the endless bounty of the sky.
| Title | Author | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Caelum Ventis / Colm Mcguinness | ||
| Aliases | Canary, The Canary in the Cereleum Mine | ||
| Age | 31 Years | ||
| Race | Hyur, Midlander | ||
| Gender | Male | ||
| Hair | Ginger | ||
| Eyes | Dark Blue | ||
| Height | 5'8" | ||
| Profession | Sky Pirate (retired) , Tavern Bard , Magitek and Engineering Specialist |
✧ Garlean Soldier, Conscript, or Resistance Fighter ?
Requires Player Permission FirstColm spent years within the Garlean military and in service to the provincial resistance efforts (notably, the efforts to liberate Werlyt from occupation). Over the course of his time in service, he garnered a bit of a reputation by word of mouth. For the resistance, he was a valued asset and a veritable hero to the efforts. For the Empire? He was a heinous traitor, the likes of which warranted a bounty for his capture. While these deeds are not associated with his present moniker, those who are particularly knowledgable may have heard of or had dealings with him prior to his flight from persecution.
✧ Musical conniseur?Colm's mother was a renowned violinist, serving within premiere orchestras across Garlemald's esteemed troupes. Likewise, Colm harbors a particular affinity and affection for the musical and theatrical arts. While he remains in hiding and has since buried his ties to his mother for safety, he bears an uncanny likeness to the woman, and utilizes her same musical techniques within his own performances as a tavern bard within the Golden Feather Tavern on Imani.
✧ Sky Pirate? Ishgardian Nobility?While Colm's practical career as an active sky pirate was relatively short, he served beneath the illustrious banner of the Bloody Falcon's crew, the Fate's Threads, as a frontline fighter. It wasn't uncommon for him to board airships associated with Ishgardian nobility to participate in a bit of plunder at the direction of his Captain.
✧ Magitek, Engineering, Gunblade enthusiast?Over the course of Colm's military service, he became particularly adept at the maintenance and engineering of Garlean machinery and weaponry. He takes a particular amount of joy in tinkering with technological 'toys', and is an avid Gunblade enthusiast. In his spare time, when not performing as a tavern bard, he takes commission work for repairs and customizations of existing works. However, he does not accept commission for builds from scratch or scrap.
Hello There!Thank you for taking a look at my character. I'm always interested in making new contacts, and am active both in-game and on Discord. If you'd like to reach out or set something up, please feel free to give me a nudge as Asriel Blackwood on Mateus, or as Atleion on Discord.While I am lore-abiding, and back up all of my character decisions with official media, I do believe in quality fun over stringency. I'm not interested in breaking lore, but I'm equally uninterested in policing it or preventing the exploration of cool ideas. If you're a little bend-y, I don't mind, but if you're incredibly strict about what you consider valid, I might not be the best contact.21+ / Narrative Focused / Dark / Mature
Excessive Violence
I don't mind dark or mature subject matter in RP. However, I draw a line at gratuitous descriptions of violence and gore. Give me Matt Mercer general, please.Sexual Violence
No. End of discussion. I don't RP this. It's fine if it's in your backstory, but I don't consent to it happening in a scene, or being a witness to it.ERP
I don't mind adult RP, however, I am not an ERPer. I prefer a narrative focus on my RP interactions. If you're only here to smash and dash, I'm not your guy.
You can call me . . .
Asriel
Colm
Atleion
That Guy Over ThereYou can contact me. . .
In-game | Asriel Blackwood, Mateus
Discord | atleion
