"We're all friends here, right? Of course we are!"
BASICS
NAME: Silver
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: he/him/his
ORIENTATION: Panromantic pansexual
BIRTHDATE: Early spring 2723
AGE: 50 as of 2773
LOCATION: Semaca
OCCUPATION: 'Ex'-Pirate Wherhandler, Cook
WING: Chopin Squad
APPEARANCE
EYES: Green
HAIR: Brown
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'1", average build
PLAY-BY: Tim Curry
FULL APPEARANCE:
Silver may be fairly average in height and build and general appearance, but what really draws most peoples' attention is the leg he's lost at some time in the past, and the crutch he uses to replace it. Other than that, it's the man's sheer energy that really stands out; his green eyes are never still, his mobile face is always displaying something, and his expression changes with the wind. Silver isn't a handsome man - his eyes are never both looking at the same thing, and his smile while heartfelt is a touch lopsided - but he does what he can with care and with panache. His beard and moustache are always evenly trimmed, and that smile of his can draw whole crowds along with him. He's not young but he's not old either, and the lines graven into his face tell of a life well-lived. Or well and truly lived, anyway.
His outfits tend to the ridiculous, usually brightly-coloured and flamboyant, and glittering with braid when he can get away with it. He can pretend to be just another member of the Weyr's staff, but he's not very good at that, always managing to stand out in a crowd.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Larger than life and twice as energetic, that's Silver. Even when trying to go unnoticed, he's just got that little extra something about him that says 'look at me', although the big smile and glittering eyes don't help. He's a natural showman, flamboyant and bold, who wears his heart on his sleeve - mostly.
By and large, Silver is out for himself, or at least he was. He's now out for himself and Silvask, mostly, though he does have a few people he genuinely likes, and he's capable of some quite staggering acts of kindness where they're concerned. There's always the risk that he's building up loyalty points with them rather than being genuine, but the effect is the same.
Silver does have a soft spot for animals and for orphans, particularly the brave and adventurous sort of orphan having been one himself, and Silvask has tempered him as a leader so that he thinks of his people and what they want and need, rather than purely selfishly. This has helped him be a man who people will follow after the initial burst of raw charisma has worn off, which is - as far as he's concerned - all to the good.
HISTORY
FAMILY: Assorted siblings, nieces, nephews, children. None close.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None
BIRTHPLACE: Star Cavern Seahold
HISTORY:
Silver was born with another name entirely, to the already-large family of a Seaholder. With no prospect of inheriting he left the Seahold as soon as he was old enough to get a berth on one of the visiting ships, rather than stay where he'd no chance despite his blood. His parents were devastated when the golden baby of the family chose to leave, but his siblings were relieved, as he hadn't made any friends with his sense of entitlement entitlement and a cruel streak his doting parents never saw.
After a few voyages on more legitimate ships, learning useful skills all the way, Silver was swayed by a promise of easy riches and a say in the running of the craft. The turn to piracy was an easy one for him to make, and he continued his climb through the ranks on the less-legitimate side of the sails, ending up as first mate to a particularly ruthless buccaneer called Captain Flint. He sailed for some years under Flint, and even among pirates he made a name for himself as a man to be feared. The loss of most of a leg in one boarding action barely slowed him down, although the tap of his crutch on the boards made it less easy to move quietly around the ship.
A year or so later, the spoils of another act of piracy included a tiny wher egg, but their vessel was becalmed for too long; the egg hatched, and Silver claimed the tiny white wher for his own. Silvask had arrived, and the crew found Silver mellowing under the wher's influence, becoming less a petty tyrant and more a genuine leader. With Silvask staying small enough to fit on board a ship, Silver saw no reason to stop sailing.
One particularly large haul included several pieces too distinctive to sell on immediately; carved jewels, fine goldwork, and jewellery fit for a Lady Holder, all taken from a trading ship, but all marked with a Master Craftsman's stamp. Flint put them in a sea-chest and sailed to a recently-discovered Southern shore, and took fifteen men into the jungles to bury it. Flint alone returned, a few days later. By dint of his navigational skills Silver knows roughly where the ship was anchored while Flint buried the chest - somewhere close to the pirate outpost on that southern shore, not far from Semaca Weyr - but what he doesn't know is exactly where it was (although he has his suspicions). Flint made a map, but Silver doesn't know where that is either.
All good things come to an end. Flint died when his luck failed, and his parrot decided that Silver's shoulder was the place to be. The crew voted to disband without Flint to lead them; that stung Silver's pride, but he hadn't Flint's skill with people, and in his more self-reflective moments he knew it. The ship was sold, and each man and woman took their share and departed. Silver blew through his share of the marks in short order - wine, women and well-tailored clothing will do that - and eventually worked his way back to Semaca.
By Silver's reckoning, Flint's ship was anchored within striking distance of the Weyr. The Captain was away from the ship for a few days to bury that chest, and with the Weyr as a landmark it's a logical place to start looking. Drawing on his days in the ship's galley, and on the presence of Silvask at his side, Silver's managed to get himself accepted as a cook up at the Weyr. It also keeps him away from the port's influx of people and those who'd recognise him, as well as giving Silvask a chance to get to know other whers (and giving Silver a chance to learn more about wherhandling in general).
Silver's even quite good at the cooking, and it gives him some spare time with which to search for that missing treasure. It's out there, somewhere, and in the meantime very few people ever notice the cook. Well, usually. A one-legged man with a white wher always draws attention, especially when his Gather finery is so very fine - but it'll all be worth it when he finds that sea-chest and its precious contents. Of course Silvask has their own thoughts about all this, but so far the wher and their human haven't really discussed what to actually do with the treasure when they get it...
