'''Name:''' Akiili Bem
'''Age:''' 42
'''Race:''' Mugrobi (Human)
'''Place of Origin:''' Isla Ix, Muluku Island

!!!Back story

When your family owns a business, you’ll never be in want of a job – Akiili knew this first-hand. She was born somewhere in the middle of a very large family to parents who loved their children enough to teach them to work for a living at a young age. The Bem family owned a relatively respectable pub – the Bem Boozle - in the less expensive tourist areas of Isla Ix, and due to their incessant fertility, they never had need to hire extra help. Also because of this fact, the parents homeschooled the eldest of their brood, who in turn taught those younger than them, for schooling costs for such a family would have certainly broken Pa Bem’s pocketbook.

As time marched on, Akiili moved up through the family's working ranks from dusting, to sweeping and mopping, to even working the taps behind the bar, and was eventually promoted to a waitress at age twelve. She even lent a hand in the kitchen, and was soon capable of whipping up a decent meal with whatever was lying around in the pantry.

But, as many know, life has a way of sneaking up on you and biting you in the erse. One day, one of the younger children decided it would be interesting to play with the fireplace – by the end of that same day, the Bem Boozle had gone up in flames and left the family completely ruined in the street. Ma and Pa Bem took the opportunity to tell a then-sixteen Akiili and her other older siblings that they were old enough to make it on their own in life, and traveling with so many children would be expensive anyway. So, taking those of the Bem horde who were as yet unable to fend for themselves, the parents gave their now freed children some money, bid them a loving farewell, and headed off to Thul Ka.

Akiili never saw or heard from her parents again, nor from her other siblings who'd scattered to the winds. Of course, she was at first scared half out of her skull at the thought of having to be alone in the world when all she had previously known was a life filled with a noisy but loving family. But the common sense and stubborn self-sufficiency she’d learned from her parents drove her on to find some sort of living, and she headed to the coast to try her hand at fish mongering. She smelled of fish for seven years before she realized that such a job wouldn’t get her anywhere in life. So she signed up on a merchant ship, and became a sailor.

The first years for Akiili were like those of any person starting a career they know nothing about: long, hard, and stressful. She first learned under a veritable task master of a bosun who was nevertheless a seasoned veteran at his work, but Akiili didn't learn overnight. It was many more years of swabbing decks, scaling rigging, and one-on-one combat with pirates on several different vessels before she was even considered for the job of a helmswoman on the cargo ship Hesta Far'ye. She was twenty nine when she was officially appointed - so far, she'd survived several tropical diseases, had a number of off-ship affairs, and plenty of on-ship scars from hard labor and treacherous situations on the high seas – specifically the loss of her left eye when a grappling hook from an enemy ship caught her off guard. That was now behind her. Her new life as the helmsman brought her a sense of respect she'd never received in all her life, even during her family-oriented years; here, on the Hesta Far'ye, she was an individual, not a random sailor - not another face in the crowd. She had a very important job, and she did it with pride and loyalty to her crew only, for certain mutual reasons soon to be seen.

Then the crew of the Hesta Far'ye mutinied. Akiili was in her second year as helmsman when she experienced first-hand just how quickly mistreatment can turn anyone to do desperate (if not terrible) things. The ship’s scuttlebutt was that the captain was keeping an unfair portion of the pay to himself, as well as finding every excuse to treat his crew horribly. As it turned out, the scuttlebutt was more than accurate. It was a dangerous move, but the crew– living in tight quarters and having sometimes bad or no food, with long shifts and short breaks – was just desperate enough to pull it off. Shots were fired, swords clashed, and in the end, there were only a precious few left who were somehow loyal to the now-groveling captain.

Akiili was not among them.

The captain had his arms broken against the mainmast, and was made to walk the plank immediately after in front of his supporters; these few were quick to change sides. Thus the mutineers turned to a life of piracy, though still keeping up the front of a merchant vessel, and they made a fine haul on many an unsuspecting ship on the high seas for many successful years.

All the while, Akiili stayed at the helm, guiding the ship through fair weather and foul. She had fought in battles, assisted in a mutiny, and now sailed with pirates. She was a pirate. Her life was now branded, and would never be the same. But Akiili didn’t mind; she didn’t care who she sailed under as long as she was treated fairly and given good pay. The life of a sailor had taught her that, even if it meant killing to prove her point. This she had done, and would do so again, for the sake of her own life, the lives of her crewmates she'd come to love, and for the ship she loved even more.

Akiili was on shore leave when the Hesta Far'ye was sunk with nearly all hands, ambushed by rival pirates and set aflame while coming into a harbor off the northern Mugrobi coast. Standing on the dock, the Mugrobi helmswoman had to watch for a second time in her life as her home and source of income burned away. It was harder this time, however, for the crew had become a new-found, close-knit family to her, and unlike before, most of them were now dead.

She helped rescue the pitiful few survivors from the debris, and they stayed together for the next several months, trying to eke out a living in what they knew of merchant work, because any of the wealth they had once earned was now at the bottom of the ocean. Soon the others drifted away to start different lives, leaving Akiili alone once more, unknown and penniless in a faraway port. Yet this time, Akiili knew how to pick up the pieces. She scraped enough money together to buy passage to Old Rose Harbor, a place she knew fairly well from many past stops. She has now resided there for quite a time, and she spends most of her days down at the docks doing manual labor, and keeping her single eye out for a ship that will need an unquestioning, close-mouthed helmswoman with time and experience (in more ways that one) behind her belt.

!!!Personality

Akiili is a strong individual, in body and mind. She's had to be, what with being in the line of work that she is; she takes what she can from hardships and turns them into what she needs to survive. She is slow to anger, quick to thinking, and takes her time when choosing, knowing that she'll have to live with the outcome for the rest of her life.

She's rather stoic, but friendly and polite, though not to the extent of being "bubbly" - she'd just as soon smack you upside the head than be associated with over-enthusiastic optimists. Treat her well, and in time, she may even fully trust you and consider you a friend. Treat her poorly, and you will have a storm building silently behind you, waiting until the right moment to unleash her own personal justice upon you. And that outcome is never pretty.

Due to being from a large family, Aliiki also has a motherly streak, referring to close friends and younger people as "dear", and giving sage Mugrobi advice and proverbs whenever she deems it necessary. Some find these traits annoying, whereas Aliiki couldn't care less what they think. She says and does so because she enjoys doing so, since she could never settle down like a "decent" Mugrobi woman should.

As for any sort of romance, Akiili leaves that to the younger folk. Once upon a time, she may have tried to pursue a life as a wife and mother, but those dreams have long since vanished. Now she views calf-eyed relationships with a cynical air, only because she's seen too many of the same sort separate with their hands full of their crumbling hearts.

!!!Physical Description

Though of average Mugrobi height, Aliiki would otherwise describe herself as ‘big’ (her actual weight remains undisclosed). Being hour-glass shaped, she is well-endowed in the chest without it being too much of a hassle, smaller around the waist, and blossoming out again into a large backside/thigh combo. She may be slower than most sailors, but what she lacks in speed, she makes up for in brawn. Her act of lugging a falconet up from below decks during a fire-fight earned her the nickname 'Brawny Bem' in her years on the Hesta Far'ye. Even at her current age, she still relishes exerting her natural strength, though she's not as spry as she used to be.

Her chocolaty skin is tough and smooth from a life at sea, and any visible scarring shows up as a light mocha color. Her rounded face is starting to show signs of her years: a couple slight crow's feet at the corners of her one good cerulean-blue eye, several forehead lines on the high forehead. She had a head of lustrous black hair that she'd curl into a bun beneath a scarf, but she had to completely shave it down due to a recent outbreak of lice. Now, sans lice and locks, her hair is quite short and curls tightly against her scalp – Akiili’s also taken the liberty to bleach it to a platinum gold.

She tends to wear few adornments, save for several studs, plugs, and small rings in her ears, and three small gold hoops adorning her left nostril. She refuses to wear necklaces, as she’s heard stories of helmsmen fond of jewelry, and having it wrap around the wheel and strangle them during a storm. And because of the loss of her left eye, Akiili wears a unique eye patch made of leather straps and metal studs that straps comfortably around her head; a closer look at the patch reveals the cover to be a compass, providing a busy captain with quick means of getting one’s bearings.

Her arms make up for any lack of ornaments: they are completely covered with tattoos of waves, flowers, birds, snarling animals, lightning clouds, skulls, stars, and more – all woven together in two stunning collages. They all flow around two main designs: one is a detailed ship with the words “Hesta Far’ye” scrawled beneath on a curled parchment. The other is a ship’s cannon leaning against a helm wheel. There’s also a thick-lettered dedication to a “Great Uncle Bartholomew,” though the story behind that has never been revealed.

!!!Inventory

Clothing:
*weather-appropriate shirts, some of which have had the sleeves cut off
*a few pairs of canvas sailor trousers (the older they are, the more tattered the hems)
*pocket belt (holds ammunition, money, trinkets, etc.)
*several pairs of striped stockings
*plain moccasins
*sturdy sea boots
*gray wool watchcoat for cold/stormy weather
*a couple head scarves

Weapons
*a pair of kukri (kept in sheathes on belt)
*a sawed-off shotgun she calls Natterjack

Pet:
*a 15-year old leira named Mabinty - acquired the female creature on one of her many trips; raised/domesticated from the egg. Mabinty is a kindly but untypically lazy beast, and would rather drape herself across your shoulders and snooze than do anything else (Akiili thinks it's due to the reptile's age). But she's sure-footed when it comes to catching equally nimble roaches, whether at home or on board a ship.

Misc:
*compass eyepatch – the only time she takes it off is when she swims/bathes
*a well-used and well-loved concertina - Akiili is a proficient player, and can get a crew up and dancing with many lively tunes
*a hearty sea chest that has seen better days - she stores all her belongings in it
*bedding: a braided hammock (Akiili made it herself) and several blankets - she's learned from past experiences to bring one's own sleeping materials, otherwise you sleep on the cold, wet floor
*a small carved and painted box containing tea - most sailors drink their whiskey and rum, but Akiili prefers her tea, and will not have otherwise


!!!Career
*sailor, helmswoman, and pirate (though she doesn't go spreading the latter title around, despite being in Old Rose)

!!!Goals
*to become part of a great crew once again as the resident helmswoman
*to earn/win/steal treasure to make up for what she lost
*to live a full life on the high seas, and (if the gods have planned so) die there as well

...and if that doesn't happen:
*to survive as best as she can wherever manual labor is needed

Hey Merry, great to see you with a new character! The mods are just going over your sheet and will get back to you shortly

another one?!?!? i feel so...special.