PLAYED BY: Jacob Pelot-Veldhuizen
CHARACTER NAME: Ford
GENDER: Male
PRONOUN(S): He/Him
CLASS: Rogue
AGE: Born 242
RACE: Who wants to know? Why all the questions?
HAIR: Blonde with a red beard
EYES: Blue
OCCUPATION/KNOWN SKILLS: A jack-of-all-trades, Ford can sell, buy, and transport goods. He also has modest blacksmithing skills and will fix it if it broke. Not afraid to get his hands dirty to finish the job. Hangs around UCUM and is often seen with Lady Marrah Faile in the Brown Chicken Brown Cow.
BIRTHPLACE: Unknown
APPEARANCE/NOTABLE TRAITS: Tall and lean with a striking red beard, Ford’s attire attests to his background as a sailor, including the multiple tattoos covering his body.
RELATIONSHIPS: Has strong ties to Lady Marrah Faile, the BCBC, and the UCUM crew.
BIO / BACKGROUND HISTORY:
Aegir of Pack Seastorm and Clan Stormjarl, is born in the year 242 to a family of fishermen and traders. Invited to go on his first trading voyage at the age of eleven, Aegir knows little of the colonist’s ways and is excited by the adventure. When a sudden Wolf’s Wind hits his pack’s longboat, Aegir is swept off the boat and lost at sea. Found unconscious by a returning merchant near the shores of New Oarsmeet, Aegir is delivered to the home of a wealthy businessman for whom the merchant works. Nursed back to health, Aegir finds himself in debt to the businessman with no way to pay. The man’s once generous nature flips to abusive manipulation as he convinces the young Aegir he has dishonored himself and his family. Aegir is forced into slavery to pay back his debt.
It isn’t long before the mud and stone cell where Aegir and other slaves are kept is broken into by a band of irascible street rats, who’ve come to rescue their friend. In the ensuing escape, Aegir meets a Syndar girl named Marrah, with whom he becomes fast friends. She suggests he pick a new name to go by, one that won’t immediately reveal him to be Ulven, who are still distrusted in the colonies. He chooses the name Ford. Over the years, Ford and Marrah’s relationship develops into one of romance and dreams. The pair find themselves working odd jobs on the edges of decent society. Ford’s shame at what he’s become and had to do to survive prevents him from making contact with his lost family.
Growing and maturing, Ford and Marrah’s eyes begin to focus on their futures. Ford’s experience sailing and smuggling captures his imagination. He saves what little he can in hopes that he can purchase a boat of his own. Marrah also longs for her own life of freedom and wealth, though her patience for it does not match Ford’s, and he is blind to it. The Ulven Civil War breaks out, and Ford pushes his Ulven self deeper into seclusion.
Ford wakes some years later with a sword to his throat. Marrah has stolen the silver of every crewmate aboard their current ship. Ford is forced to take on the debt to prevent the pirates from hunting down and killing Marrah. Crushed by her actions, Ford loses his trust in others and realizes there is no honor in people. In the ensuing years, Ford works off his debt, acquiring skills and knowledge of the world along the way.
When the last silver piece is paid off, Ford leaves his crew in search of Marrah. He will get answers and the silver he’s owed. Then, finally, he can have the life of freedom he’s always dreamed of.
RETIREMENT:
In the years since, Ford found Marrah and the two made peace with their tumultuous past. That this peace came after his steel found its way to her throat… was quickly forgotten. Especially after he was knocked unconscious by one of Marrah’s girls during the incident. Ford worked for Marrah for many years, helping her build UCUM into a place of prosperity. As UCUM grew, so did their relationship and trust. When Marrah singlehandedly purchased a sea-faring vessel out of the money from her own pocket, it was Ford who was made captain. The dream of his youth was finally realized. Wealth, success, and freedom were everything Ford had hoped it would be. And yet, the half-forgotten and hidden name of his birth tugged at his soul. From time to time, Ford found himself daydreaming of his family, of his birthplace.
One day, the pull could no longer be ignored. Ford told Marrah of his decision and thanked her for her love and generosity. As he kissed her hand goodbye, Ford told her she could always call on him in times of need. Slinging his pack over his shoulder, Ford took his first tentative steps back into the unknown world of his beginnings. A salt-laden breeze swept across the path. Aegir smiled wide. A true freedom and truth now sat light in his heart.