Gretchin "The Grey Wind"

Captain Gretchin Greywood (a.k.a. "The Grey Wind" and "Gretchin The Grey")

They say that the sea was as calm as glass the day that she was captured. As if it took a quick sigh of relief.

Gretchin "The Grey Wind", is an infamous female pirate who captains the vessel called "The Cackling Queen".  Relentless, fearless, brutal, and merciless, she scoured the seas taking merchant ships and pirate ships alike. She operated near the seafaring city of Waterwhite, on the Blood Coast. The years of uncompromising success has led to her notoriety, infamy, and eventual capture and imprisonment.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Gretchin is a tall, thin, fit, and athletic female.  Although only a quarter of an elf, she still shows some of those elf-like attributes, including pointed ears and bright eyes.

Facial Features

Gretchin often develops a wide sneer during battle or after winning some contest.

Identifying Characteristics

Aside from missing her left eye, she has the usual scars of someone who has been in a lot of fights.

Physical quirks

When standing or sitting still, her head will often tilt to one side. No one knows why, some say that it happens in order to make up for her lost eye, others say that she is listening to some far off voices.

Special abilities

Aside from being a masterful captain, tactician, and swordsman, Gretchin is also a low level sorceress.  This is an ability that she keeps hidden most of the time and uses to surprise her enemies and turn the tide in her favor.  Her magical spells are mostly weather based, and some speculate that she is an Atmosmancer.  Her favorites are using the wind spells to enhance her ship's speed and maneuverability or creating a grey fog to hide her ship as she attacks.  Few survivors live to tell the tales of the weather gone mad or the grey ship that came out of nowhere.

Apparel & Accessories

Often dressed in a black and red tunic with simple black trousers and tall black boots with red laces and buckles.  She has a simple grey eye patch on her left eye and usually wears a black tricorne hat with red trim. Her love of jewelry is apparent with her various necklaces, pierced ears and nose, and fingers laden with gold and silver rings.

Specialized Equipment

Gretchin carries with her a long, curved, one-handed saber as her main weapon and an unusually long, curved, black dagger.  Her preferred choice is to fight with both weapons in hand at the same time. This unusual fighting style, throws most opponents of balance and makes for quick fights.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Gretchin Greywind was born under tragic circumstance in 712 A.S., as her mother died in childbirth.  No record of a father exists, but her mother was half-elven, technically making Gretchin a quarter elf.  She was immediately placed in an orphanage in her home city of Waterwhite.  She stayed here until her sorceress abilities manifested and scared her and her roommates.  She ran away at 13 and promptly joined the "Iron Maiden" pirate vessel.  Here she learned everything that she could about seamanship, tactics, and fighting.  After eight years the ship ran aground and the crew had to disband. 
Gretchin gathered some of her former pirate associates and stole a slightly unfinished ship using her weather spells to sail it to a hidden harbor.  She was proclaimed its new captain, and at age 21 had her own vessel that she named "The Cackling Queen".  Over the following nine years, her cunning and magic won her many victories, making a fearsome name for herself and treasure for her crew.
Eventually a big enough reward was offered for her capture and under the cover of darkness, she was drugged, and betrayed by one of her crew. Barras Kouda turned her in to the Waterwhite authorities, where she was tried, convicted, and sentenced to the infamous prison known as The Spike.  Her ship was auctioned off, treasure dug up, and the crew were hunted down and killed.

Sexuality

Gretchin considers herself bisexual, as she has had relations with both males and females in the past.  Although she favors females more, she rarely has the time or inclination for relationships.

Education

She received very basic schooling at the orphanage before running away. While there, she excelled at mathematics and learned elvish from one of her roommates. After joining the crew of the "Iron Maiden", she quickly learned seamanship, navigation, and cartography, as well as developing swordsmanship and two-weapon fighting skills.

Employment

At 13, Gretchin began her career aboard the "Iron Maiden" pirate vessel, where she stayed for about eight years until it ran aground. Then at 21, she captained her own pirate ship, the "Cackling Queen", until her recent capture nine years later. She now resides in prison plotting her escape.

Mental Trauma

Being raised from birth in a poor orphanage has taught her that she needs to be self-reliant and aggressive if she is going to get what she wants and be able to survive. Having no family has greatly shaped and motivated her to leave the orphanage at a young age, and join the pirate crew of the "Iron Maiden", which offered a small close knit group of people with a common cause and thrill of adventure.

Intellectual Characteristics

Despite the lack of an advanced education, she is extremely bright, shrewd, intelligent, and cunning.  Most of what she has learned has come from personal experiences and on the job training.  Real world applications and situational decisions come naturally to her. Being a quick thinker and fast decision maker has saved her and her ship many times over the years.

Morality & Philosophy

Gretchin has come to believe that right and wrong really don't matter to her. She sees them as artificial obstacles, made by the ruling elite that attempt to prevent her from getting what she wants. She is more apt to break the rules, than to follow them, just for spite against those in power. She is vicious and ruthless to those that oppose her, giving no quarter and showing no mercy. Yet she can be extremely kind to the downtrodden and desperate, often giving them some of her plundered coin when she makes dock.

Taboos

Gretchin does not allow any bananas, flowers, pigs, or redheads on board her vessels as she sees these as extremely bad luck.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Her thrill of adventure, desire to belong to something, and fear of being a nameless beggar, has led Gretchin to seek out people with similar views and strive to obtain riches and glory.

Virtues & Personality perks

Gretchin is a master seafaring commander and brilliant tactician. She is relentless, ruthless, and efficient. Her cunning strategies and determination have allowed her ship and crew to become well known and feared in the open sea. Many small ships will surrender without a fight, trading their cargo and information for their lives.

Vices & Personality flaws

Gretchin loves to gamble and drink.  The thrill of winning and beating the odds, keeps her coming back to the disreputable gambling halls.  Her love of the various alcoholic drinks drives her to search for newer and more expensive beverages, taking her farther and farther from her known waters.

Social

Family Ties

Gretchin does not have any family ties.

Religious Views

While Gretchin is not religious at all, she is very superstitious and strictly adheres to all known seafaring superstitions. When leaving port she drops a coin off of the bow to Maritimus, God Of The Sea and when crossing dangerous waters she will sacrifice a fowl to Azvorkoltull, Demon God Of The Depths.
The one deity that she does privately speak to is Procella, Goddess Of Storms. These conversations usually center around her strange magical abilities or her reason for being. Since she has not been answered, Gretchin feels no obligation to pray to her or appease her.

Social Aptitude

Gretchin is extremely charismatic, brave, and clever, but is also very impatient, brash, stubborn, and often takes calculated risks. Her unorthodox success continues to reinforce her beliefs and aggressive behaviors.

Mannerisms

Gretchin is often seen standing above the others, watching them work the ship, with a wide sneer and tilted head, as if listening to some far off, unseen voice.

Hobbies & Pets

Her only true companion is her grey alley cat that she calls "Sixer".  With six toes on each foot, he is considered extremely lucky by both Gretchin and her crew.  They never leave dock without the beloved cat.

Wealth & Financial state

Her exact wealth is currently unknown as most of it has been hidden away or used to secretly invest in establishments and land.

No quarter! No mercy! Do you think that they'll give you such pleasantries as they stretch your necks on the gallows!

— The Grey Wind

Alignment

Neutral Evil

Current Location

The Spike

Species

Half-Elf

Age

31

Date of Birth

Born on the 15th of Thirmont in 712 A.S.

Circumstances of Birth

Her mother died in childbirth and she was placed in an orphanage in the city of Waterwhite.

Birthplace

Born in the seafaring city of Waterwhite.

Current Residence

She is currently locked away in the prison known as The Spike.

Gender

Female

Eyes

Bright blue, piercing eyes.

Hair

Medium length, sandy brown hair, styled as a long undercut on both sides.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Sun tanned, bronze toned skin.

Height

5 foot 8 inches tall.

Weight

130 pounds.

Known Languages

Gretchin can speak the common tongue, is fluent in elf and aquanin, and can understand and speak a little orc. She secretly knows the pirate coded symbols as well.

by by me from HeroForge