Ocea Twalk
Novice Officer Ocea Twalk (a.k.a. “Socks”)
Ocea is a young navy officer, one who joined the force as to relieve a debt on her family. Wiser than many her age, Ocea generally prefers solitude as to learn more about the eldritch and magical. She understands the theory behind much, though the practice behind less, given her background as a librarian. Hailing from The Oasis Skerry in the Fortiania Trade Hub, Ocea grew up as the middle child of her two siblings—Farador and Yulisis Twalk. The Twalk family library served as her childhood home and school, it’s books her teachers and its patrons the ones who sparked her interest in the unknown. Her mother and father encouraged her to peruse a literary or scholarly profession, yet Ocea’s interest laid in the arcane alone. The Twalk family library had few books or scrolls on the matter, though, as such studies were against island's law. Ocea did, however, manage to scavenge a few select literary items on the subject, and studied them to the point of memorization. Yet such easy times would not last for Ocea, for the Twalk family library caught ablaze one night, along with many other buildings as the fire spread. On Tel 16th, 351 TA, parchment and wood burned all the same; books of knowledge, leisure and rare volumes of beings beyond all reduced to ash spread in the island’s tropical breeze. Why the Twalk family library burned, nobody but Ocea knows—and she herself will claim ignorance. Fortunately, nobody was killed, though Wenrey Twalk—Ocea’s mother—inhaled too much burning ink and still has difficulty breathing to this day. To make matters worse, the family was put into severe debt following the fire, as the blame could not be placed on another, and they were fined following the destruction of much of Fortania's literature. Knowing the owed sum to be too great to pay, Ocea offered to join the Black Iron Navy, as the government alleviates fines and dues for doing so. Farador objected, offering to join the navy himself, but when Ocea points out his more versatile skillset, he was forced to conclude that having Ocea enlist would be the more logical choice.
We who are within the Storm are presented with an opportunity no other within mankind has had before: the potential to understand and wield magic. I intend to study the art and write about it as my life's work.-Ocea
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Ocea’s weight is distributed lower, mainly on her hips and upper legs. Her shoulders are narrow, and she’s fairly lean towards her upper torso and arms. While her background of a librarian provided her little in terms of physical demands, her duties as an Black Iron Navy officer forced her into greater physical condition.
Body Features
Ocea has one singular Sea Curse; something not uncommon given her chosen hobby of practicing Deepspeaker magic. The physical manifestation of the curse is fairly mild, being just a patch of blue fish scales set on her upper right thigh. Spare being seen unclad or in only undergarments, it is none too difficult for her to conceal the scales, as her uniform and casual clothes will both cover the blight. She has never had to explain the curse to any, though she was not born with it, nor did she obtain it from injury. All that is relevant is that she obtained it on Tel 16th, 351 Tempest Age.
Facial Features
Much of Ocea's face is rounded, both its main shapely features and it's smaller details. Her jaw, chin and cheekbones all gently curve, taking on no harsh edges. Eyes of dark bronze stare wide and inquisitively, and her lips almost always pursed, yet bearing a slight smirk. Her usual expression gives off a certain contentment—or rather, it used to. In more recent days, Ocea's eyes no longer seem to open as wide, her mouth rarely forming any expression besides a frown.
Apparel & Accessories
As an officer in the Black Iron Navy, Ocea’s typical daily wear consists of the typical mid-grey uniform of a Black Iron Navy Officer—an overcoat buttoned to the collar. Underneath her outerwear, she wears a dress shirt which is messily tucked into her bleached white trousers. She also wears the standard-issued leather shoes of the Black Iron Navy, despite her disdain for the footwear. When off duty, her wardrobe switches to more comfortable attire, as she ditches the overcoat and swaps the restrictive shoes out for her preferred footwear—that being socks and sandals.
Ocea has a strange obsession with having her feet covered by socks at all times. She has no Sea Curse, or scar, or any other blemish to cover (on her feet, that is), she simply claims that her lower forelegs get cold. This habit extends to sleepwear, as she almost never removes her socks prior to bed, even in Brimsey's warm summers. Even when wearing little else, or when it is too hot to even place blankets over her.
“Guys, there is nothing wrong with wearing socks and sandals, stop looking at me that way!”-Ocea
Specialized Equipment
As a member of the Black Iron Navy, Ocea both owns several weapons and borrows some from the navy's stock to utilize. Among these is a shalve blade and a flintlock pistol made of the crimson wood found on Reylux. Both of these two weapons were purchased by her.
Mental characteristics
Sexuality
Few know exact details in regard to Ocea's sexual and romantic preferences. She herself rarely brings the topic up, as she does not place significant priority in finding a relationship. To her, romance, while itself desirable, is insufficient in fulfilling individual purpose. To this day, she is also unsure about the concept of having a family, as she is unsure on who her partner would be, or whether she's sufficiently mature to be a parent.
In terms of sexual preference, Ocea bears interest in both men and women.
You know, uh... I realized my feelings for women weren't entirely platonic at around seventeen. I was reading this one book, where a lady was rescued from pirates by someone she assumed to be a man. She showed romantic inclination towards her rescuer until she realized “he” was actually also a woman. I went to bed that night thinking. “You know, in her place... I think I might still have been down for that.”-Ocea
Education
As an eternal bookworm, most of what Ocea knows in regards to practical skillsets come from literature. Her mathematics are up to par for her occupation as a navy officer, as are her reading and writing. She also holds basic knowledge of several useful skills, including first-aid, navigation, and wilderness survival. These skills in particular she brushed up on upon joining the Black Iron Navy, as they became more relevant to her life.
I was, as many say, “self taught”—my parents mostly just let me roam around in the family library for days on end, so I eventually learned a bit of everything. I do realize, of course, that book-smarts aren’t everything, but I’d say I at least qualify as more educated than most in Brimsey.-Ocea
Failures & Embarrassments
Ocea's military nickname, ”socks“ originates from her well-known habit of wearing socks constantly. Originally, some of her dormmates noted her habit over the course of her stay on the Grey Keep—the navy's base of operations. But the name only stuck on Ocktorg 4th.
Mental Trauma
On Anwon 23rd, 352 Tempest Age, Ocea was onboard the Black Iron Navy Ship known as Shorerider as it was contacted by a fleeing sailor. The sailor, stating that he was from the Oasis Skerry, told the captain that an eldritch monstrosity was ravaging the city of Fortania. From the sailor's description, the captain judged the being to be Aberration-tier, and, seeing as the ship had two Titantopplers on board, elected to sail for the city in an attempt to slay the monster. Ocea, having reservations but being unable to voice them, went along with the rest of the crew on the captain's poor decision.
By noon, Shorerider had arrived at Fortania's port. The Titantopplers had been brought out, wielded by Jermiah Fau-wasenkin and Ivakina Jiehow, who stood ready on the ship's deck. Ocea, realizing that her flintlock pistol would prove to be a poor weapon against the eldritch horror, went down into the armory to grab a spare musket. It was then that the Monstrosity struck. Ocea, seeing but a brief glimpse of it, stayed down in Shorerider's lower decks, hiding from the abberation.
A third of Shorerider's crew had died, including Jermiah Fau-wasenkin. All while Ocea had hidden in the lower decks. She only witnessed the aftermath—a terror in and of itself—yet it was enough to scar her, leaving her sleepless to the current day, a month later.
“I don’t know how long I stayed there. Looking back, it was probably less than ten minutes, but at the time, it felt like I laid there for an entire day. The entire time, I was absolutely terrified, more so than I have ever been in my life. Finally, when the screaming stopped, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Marines rapidly carried wounded down.”-Ocea Twalk in her journal
Morality & Philosophy
Valuing her understanding of reality first and foremost, Ocea thinks that knowledge, no matter how dangerous, should never be destroyed. Such an ideal is at odds in society of the inner islands, which value security over liberty. This is especially true of the Black Iron Navy, resulting Ocea hersself enforcing an opposite ideal to what she believes.
When you erase history and promote misunderstanding, you lessen humanity and worsen the lives of everyone. It does not matters your “reasoning”, knowledge is not to be destroyed or twisted.-Ocea
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Ocea's primary goal in understanding magic is just that—understanding. She wishes to learn the mystical art, and to study it like a science. Once she can wield the magic, she plans to write and publish her findings for others to understand and use. Though interest in eldritch magic is frequently believed to be madness or a sign of instability, Ocea tempers her goals with caution. Her fear of death and mutilation prove to be generally a bit stronger than her desire to understand magic. Given the nature of the now-corrupted Selkie art of Deepspeech, such is understandable.
I'm not stupid enough to think that I'll find a way out of the Storm through eldritch magic. What I want is to learn to utilize it. It's magic, think about all we could accomplish if we learned to mesh it with our technology!
-Ocea Twalk
Virtues & Personality perks
Ocea is undeniably intelligent—able to pick up skills quickly and able to become efficient in many in a short span of time. Once, when she was fourteen, she was introduced to the game of Wilm by her elder brother Farador. Within a month, she was consistently besting him, along with the rest of her family. The novice Officer also possess a notably good memory, and is keen on jotting down details when others wouldn’t think to do so. This does, however, sometimes lead to her pockets being filled with many pieces of scrap paper with barely legible notes.
“This one displays traits of unfortunate rarity—patience and an eagerness to understand prior to action. A scholar. I suspect she is in the navy for reasons besides the establishment of order, but she may be of use nevertheless.”
-Grand Admiral Austyx
Social
Social Aptitude
Put plainly: Ocea is an extrovert, albiet one who prefers the presence of small groups, rather than crowds. She suffers no significant shyness, and explains her thoughts quickly when allowed to input. And sometimes even when her input is not allowed.
“I have confidence, my sister has discretion. I would frankly trade her for it even if the deal were upstream—that is to say, even if I had to put in remarkable effort to do so.”-Farador Twalk
Backstory outline:
Ocea was born on the Oasis Skerry as the middle child to three siblings
Her parents ran the Twalk family library. It originally belonged to her mother's bloodline.
Ocea's father was a news publisher prior, working in Port Brimsey
Ocea took a fascination with eldritch magic after having a scraped arm be healed at age 12
- A Selkie Deepspeaker healed the wound, after having accidentally caused it
- She began to search for information on the subject, and learned the basic concepts of Selkie magic by age 16
- A sea curse manifested on Ocea's right thigh; a collection of green fish scales
- The spell itself involved no fire, rather, Ocea knocked over a lit oil lamp when the spell went wrong
- Though her family survived, Ocea's mother suffered a lung injury from the fire and has trouble breathing for months
- Ocea enlists in the navy to reduce this debt, as joining it removes a certain amount from the enlistee's personal or family debts
- Faradore initially offers to join the navy first. Ocea admits to him alone the fire was her fault, and persuades him to let her take the fall
Up in her shared officer dorm in The Silent Keep, Ocea keeps a stash of select papers, books and reports on eldritch activity and studies. Due to their prohibited legal status in Port Brimsey, such literature must be hidden for Ocea to remain both an officer and outside of prison. Her other literature, while not illegal by any means, would prove horrendously embarrassing for her if discovered.
Beneath her bed—unbeknownst to all but her, were a collection of scrolls, papers and studies on eldritch mutation and Deepspeaker magic. Lore on the arcane, much of it so strange it disturbs even her. … along with sappy, spicy romance novels. She also keeps some of those there. For similar reasons to the eldritch papers, just minus the illegality.
Culture: Farath
The Twalk family consists primarily of historians, librarians, and scholarly researchers. They hold a stable, favorable reputation among most in the Fortania Trade hub. Ocea is generally viewed positively among her family. She possesses their valued traits—most notably intellect and curiosity.Religion: Atheist
Ocea
Alignment
Lawful Neutral
Current Location
Conditions
Date of Birth
Ocktorg 3rd, 332 TA
Year of Birth
332 TA
20 Years old
Birthplace
The Oasis Skerry, Fortania
Children
Sex
Female
Gender
Woman
Presentation
Feminine
Eyes
Earth Brown
Hair
Dark brown, quite curled
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Dark Copper
Height
5’6”
Weight
134 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
“Ohohoh—I’ve read about this! Here, allow me. I think I just- *crack* … maybe you should do it.” “The feet were never intended to be uncovered for long durations. Sleep is a long duration.” “After thorough research, I have concluded that I am, in fact, both stupid and tired.”
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