Birki Kroon

"No matter the terrain, weather, heights, depths, or overall peril, I am always willing to delve into the vast unknown. Adventure seems to always call out to me. It overflows through these watery veins of mine. One day I hope to have the entire world mapped from top to bottom. Only then may I possibly retire this ship and settle down in a tropical seaside village." - Introduction on Birki's travel blog.

Known far and wide, Birki Kroon is an avid explorer. Not only do they travel for their own amusement, Birki often partners with groups like Agi's Scales, museums, and various research labs. If they're not working on their map collection, they can be found helping locate ruins or historical sites, discovering artifacts, observing hard to reach wildlife, and much more. They sail across the skies with their personal ship and even run a travel blog. Birki grew quite the following and their various updates are always highly anticipated. Any extra funds they earn are donated to local wildlife groups and different clean up efforts.

Physical Traits

Birki is a 35 year old water genasi. They stand at 5'6" tall, weigh 168 lbs, and have an above average muscle tone. Their frame is on the thinner side, making it a bit easier to squeeze into certain nooks and crannies. They have an "innie" bellybutton that sits above a hysterectomy scar. Their chest is flat. Birki has only one surviving nipple on the left (you need to be a close friend to hear how they lost the other) and two faded top surgery scars line the bottom of their pectorals. They have a tattoo of their skyship on their upper back and a tattooed belt of colorful seashells around their waist just above the hipline.
With shimmery, teal skin and vibrant, big, round, deep blue eyes, they definitely take after their unknown elemental mother. Their hair is short, wavy, and pastel pink. It frames a soft, round face splattered with light blue freckles. Other than a curled, pink mustache, they are clean shaven. Their nose is thin and slanted. It became slightly crooked after they broke it when falling out of a hammock while drunk. Their ears have small points and flair out a little from the side of their head. They are pierced with two holes each. Behind plump lips lies a set of incomplete teeth. Some were knocked out after getting in a brawl to stop a poacher.
Birki has long, slender digits. They are missing their entire left pinky after trying on a cursed ring that slowly rotted it from the inside out, only being able to come off after the finger fell off their hand. A scattering of different sized and aged scars map the perils of adventure across both hands. A compass is tattooed in white ink on the inside of their right wrist. They are ambidextrous and have decent fine motor skills. To avoid breaking during expeditions, Birki always keeps their nails trimmed short.

Personality and Style

Extroverted and easy going, Birki loves anything that will prove to be fun. They have an adventurous spirit. Loved ones mean the world to them and they would stop at nothing to protect them. Birki is fiercely loyal and has a solid sense of morals. This can prove to be detrimental at times as they are not afraid to throw themselves at danger. Although Birki is an active explorer, they won't say no to a lazy day lounging in the hammock on the upper deck of their ship.
When they're not on an expedition, Birki enjoys casual drinking, dancing, festivals, street food, wood carving, reading detective novels, and playing the guitar. Small wooden sculptures line the various walls of their ship. When they feel sad on a trip, they will put a cd on their portable player and dance in the open, beneath the night sky with the stars and moon as their only witness. Certain deities may give them a passing glance on those nights and whisper unheard blessings of safe travel.
Birki is not an early person and will do anything to avoid contracts that force them to be awake before eleven. They also hate doing boring paperwork, coffee, cheap wine, people who diss their blog, cherries, and rough textures. Centipedes and geese are the only things that really frighten them.
Since they're constantly on the move, Birki typically wears light, breathable clothing. They always have warm and other weather appropriate options on hand. Usually they're shirtless. Otherwise, they leave tops unbuttoned or wear crop tops. If the environment calls for it, they'll wear pants, but do prefer loose fitting shorts when possible. They love pastel colors and accessorizing. Their favorite jewelry are small hoop earrings and rings. Birki's socks are always mismatched and come in different, fun patterns.

"Ma, you wouldn't believe what I just saw! On my way home from gathering mushrooms I saw one of those water folk with pretty pink hair wrestling a gnoll. Apparently this person found a group of campers in trouble and swooped in to help!" - A child excitedly telling her mother about their random encounter with Birki in the woods.

Their Story

Birki does not know their mother. All they know is that she was a water elemental of some sort. She left them on the porch of their father at two months old, wrapped securely in a blanket woven of seaweed. The fisherman Velem Kroon received his one and only child that spring morning. His only indication this child belonged to him, was the unique mother of pearl brooch that was pinned to the bundle. He recognized it from a woman he met a year prior. After a long night of drinking he awoke to an empty bed and never saw her again. Unsure of the circumstances, Velem took Birki into his home and raised them without trouble. They were his responsibility now and Velem was not a cruel man.
Velem retired from life on the open sea to be a full time single parent. He still supervised the local docks and managed a few ship crews, but made sure to keep a light enough work load to give Birki the best life possible. Birki grew up playing in the ocean and exploring the exciting tide pools along the shoreline. Velem fostered their growing need to explore and let them within reason. He still kept a protective eye on them while mulling about nearby if he didn't join in on the fun. When they were old enough, Birki joined the local scouting and camping program for youths. The learned more about the wilderness, conservation, and survival methods. This only intensified their desire to see everything this world had to offer.
After their basic education, Birki spent three years at a university learning environmental and wildlife science. Upon graduating, they helped Velem in the dockyard to earn enough money for their skyship. With their father's well wishes, they set off on their first voyage at the age of 25. Birki set up their blog to keep a digital record of all their explits. After expressing the desire to chart the entire planet, Velem gifted them their first cartographer's tools and high quality parchment. After their first couple years, different organizations caught wind of their journeys and saw potential. From then on Birki took on various contracts to not only help others in areas they're passionate about, but to fund these trips and cover ship costs.

"We have heard high praise from local research and conservation groups about a young person by the name of Birki Kroon. From what I hear, they have their own skyship. Birki sails across all the islands and does their own charting. I believe it is in the Scale's best interest if we collaborate with them in more pressing matters related to securing historical sites and scoping out unknown terrain." - Snippet of an e-mail between high ranking members of Agi's Scales.

Discoveries

Birki has traveled across Omari for ten years and will not stop until either they die or finish their map collection. They have made many discoveries in the fields of history and science. There are several academic papers and articles with them as a co-author and main contributor.
With funding and people for assistance from local museums, Birki helped discover ruins of lost and abandoned settlements. Their most notable finds are the Tallingi ruins, an abandoned vault at the end of the Crimson Depths in the Underdark, and the Screaming Labyrinth off the coast of Neofai. Upon locating these destinations, they helped make detailed maps and collect artifacts that would later be used for historical research and museum display.
As conservation is another interest, Birki gets invited to the occasional trek to locate new species and help with tracking efforts of others. To date they've discovered a cave frog that glows in the dark, sheep with magical wool, venomous chickens, sentient fish, and far too many insects than they're comfortable with.

Mental characteristics

Gender Identity

Agender.

Sexuality

Bisexual and aromantic.

Year of Birth

877 LE 35 Years old

Circumstances of Birth

Birki's father awoke to find them bundled in seaweed on his porch nearly a year after a one night stand with a mysterious woman.

Current Residence

Aboard their roaming skyship.

Crewmates

Birki has acquired several loyal crewmates to help run their ship over the years. They're all close and would do anything for one another, even if it meant death.
Hidden Treasure: Birki's second in command and closest friend. Treasure is a tabaxi female with Bengal coloration and markings. She is usually the one at the wheel while Birki navigates and gives direction to her and the other crew. The first crew member Birki hired to join them on their adventures. 
Akosi Kwanai: A dark elf male. He is responsible for repairs and general maintenance of the ship. At night he usually keeps watch at the front of the ship unless needed elsewhere. He was the second crew member hired. 
Timra Mooncloud: The cook of the ship, Timra was the third member hired after the others realized none of them were that great at it. He is a halfling male. No matter the case, he does what he can to ensure everyone is fully nourished and never hungry. What good is a ship crew that is weak from not eating properly?