Vasha "Rakel" D'Avenir

(A.K.A. Gale ForceWinds)
Co-captain of the Sovereign Citizen and member of the original Fucking Furies, Rakel is an accomplished sharpshooter and performer.

Early Life

Her recollection goes only so far. The strongest memories from before she was separated from her birth family only reside in scents and feelings. She was born to a woman named Lady Luba D'Avenir of the nomadic Vistani. She was given the name Vasha, and seemingly unlike the rest of her immediate kin, was born a beastman. Luba, having just had a baby, did not want to travel immediately from Jacktree Thicket and decided to stay for a little while before heading to Crossroads. Unfortunately, this delay would prove disastrous as the road they took would put them right next to the west coast of the Bounty Sea during hurricane season. Caught in the storm, Rakel was swept away over the sea. This would be the last time she would see them for 7 years. Rakel was traumatized by the event, causing her to lose any semblance of identity or memories before the storm and kick start her crippling fear of open and deep waters. She washed ashore, and began to live as a feral child. Her food would come mainly from scavenged abandoned camps and nearby wildlife. (She tried to take food from a traveler's cart but was caught and chased away back into the woods.) A month went by before Rakel was found by the Wartooth brothers during a tour of their circus troupe, Wartooth's Wayward Wonderment. She was mistaken as a magpie at first, causing a fight that ended as abruptly as it started. Nobody knew how long Rakel had been away from the her family or tribe, but it was clear she didn't trust or like people. Tegmund found that out the hard way. Just as he noticed she was just a baby, she had taken a swipe at him destroying one of his eyes. Rakel was taken in after some arguing, with Teg ultimately casting the executive decision under the excuse that she must put in the work to repay him for taking his eye.

The Circus Days

Once she was old enough to fly, she began her training as a performer. First starting out as a flag girl; a greeter to work on her 'people skills'. Teg had taught her enough common to interact with customers, and directed her showmanship. The only other aarakocra in the troupe, Gavin the Osprey, begrudgingly taught her flight acrobatics and the aarakocra and auran languages. Despite Gavin's unwillingness to share the spotlight with a child, they would be featured together sometimes in aerial acts under the stage names Storm and Gale. She would go on to perform dual acts with others, such as those with Lucinda Lavalette. Once she cemented her talents with those shows, she began doing solo acts with increasing difficulty. Further training included sharpshooting under the teachings of the twins Khefra and Kor; a pair of gloomstalker rangers. With their teachings, Rakel had found a great interest in sharpshooting, disguises, and hunting.
She did not always act as a performer. Her interest in the skills of the twins had allowed her to become a part of the hunting party to provide for the caravan when finances were tough, or when supplies were low in the deep country. Though her tracking skills were still lacking, she would put down quarries swiftly and efficiently. She also worked as a stagehand under the direction of Iggy, the technical director. She melted into the shadows of the backstage areas and worked silently with pullies, spotlights, set pieces, etc.
The result of all of this training ended up landing her a solid place in the troupe, not just as an asset but as a member of what she considered a sizable family.

The Hit

Six years passed. The tour had completed its annual calendar. This time of year some of the folks would leave the caravan to visit family, the rest would stay at camp on the edge of the Bounty Sea. Both parties would take much earned rest. One night during this break, a group of Magpies and Vulture grunts had ambushed the caravan. A massive fight broke out with the result being the total decimation of the camp and several fatalities. Rakel had been inside a tent with Iggy and fellow stagehand Tanya when the alarm rang out. Iggy instructed them both to get out and away as fast as they could, while he provided cover fire. The sight outside was a disaster. Shots flew into the dark, fires spread wildly, and bodies littered the ground in and directly outside the camp.
It was here Rakel had witnessed the slaughter of those she considered closest to her. In the confusion, she was separated from Tanya as they fled. Rakel just picked a direction and attempted to escape as fast as she could. A shot had grazed the back of her head as she leapt over a nearby river, knocking her unconscious and plunged her into the water. She woke up some time later, washed up on a random river bank. Completely uprooted by the previous events, the only thing she could think to do at the time was to find a place to lick her wounds and lay low. The area that happened to be closest at that time was Razor Rock.

The Sovereign Citizen Crew

Rakel had settled in the Sovereign for a few months to recuperate and save up some cash. She ran head first into any work she could find, mostly for Petey Wheatstraw. During this time, she frequented a meat stand out behind the inn and casino and became acquaintances with Zephyr. Finally, Rakel found a calling with the rest of the party during a security job for the Sovereign. She continued to work with them and live there, eventually becoming a co-owner and ultimately co-captain once the party managed to get the ship airborne.

Magpies in the City

Zephyr had given Rakel a tip that the Magpies were up to some bullshit with the Meat Vendor Coalition, and that they were planning on doing something about it. They were stealing meat from their store houses, and the two made it their mission to investigate them, where they were coming from, where they went, and send them a message. Thirsting for revenge and a fight, Rakel needed no persuading to get into the action. These night investigative missions would become more and more frequent until finally they found their base in Razor Rock. Zephyr, Arret, Jagosi, and Rakel paid them a little visit, sending Johnny Marconi's first lieutenant Red back to tell him the vendors weren't fucking around.

The Heist/The Hit pt 2

The party attempted to dissolve the Vultures' presence in Razor Rock by blackmailing Foulmouth Ferrous and turning the populous against him. This plan involved a heist at the night club called Titanium, where evidence of dishonor in his tactics as a gang leader was waiting to be uncovered. During the reconnaissance mission, Rakel found Lucy working as a bartender and persuaded her to help them in return for a new job and place with the ever growing Sovereign Crew. After the heist, suspicion was heavy on the party. They could not return to their normal hideout in the Sovereign, so they turned to Zephyr's residence for shelter for the night. The Magpies had followed them there, resulting in the murder of Guster by Johnny Marconi. The party left to the outskirts of town until the next day.
Rakel caught Johnny in the middle of skipping town in the back of a peacekeeper wagon later that day. Sick with rage, she ignited an entire bandelier of alchemist fire in the wagon in the middle of the street, with Johnny and Red locked inside. This very public event would cement her reputation as a killer. Later, Petey would resurrect Guster and give up the ship to the party before going into hiding.

Moonlighting

Zephyr asked Rakel out after the past events, and they became lovers. They continued their investigations involving Ferrous, after the party realized the one they had killed in the arena was not the true Ferrous. During these events, they had met Saracen who made a tenuous pact with the two to figure out who blackmailed her brother, Myrmidon. Rakel persuaded Saracen to only draw her blood for the bloodstone, as Zephyr and his family had suffered enough without someone else knowing where they are at all times. The trio's investigations had pointed to a Vulture hideout where the real Ferrous had been locked up for two years. Fleeing the scene, Saracen was shot in the leg, and Rakel would have her left wing amputated for the first time. A man named Doktor managed to get it reattached. Eventually the party came together to find the man responsible for the entire debacle, which turned out to be Beowulf.

Physical Description

Body Features

Rakel is an aarakocra, she has wings as well as arms. (Most of the time) At the end of her scaly feet and hands are razor sharp claws that she uses for basically everything, from opening cans of fruit to opening cans of whoopass. Her otherwise inky black feathers shimmer in the light with a whole spectrum of iridescent colors, she would accentuate this in her performances.

Physical quirks

Upon closer inspection, some of Rakel's feathers are singed from a short but intense history of pyromania and enemy flame attacks. She has scarring on her hands from the fight with Alzahifa, the Black Dragon of Crossroads. Because of this interaction, she can now control the flames she creates; Both for extinguishing or making more fire. Her left wing and arm are both a slightly different sheen than the rest of her body, a bright blue and yellow color scheme from being rebuilt by Zigismunt.

Special abilities

Rakel has trained a little bit with a few people to make her hand to hand strikes much stronger. With Zephyr, she trained both with him and his little brother to learn Wind Talon and Zephyr strike. In Crossroads, she met a man named James who taught her the art of CATCHING HERSELF ON FIRE AND PUNCHING PEOPLE ACROSS THE ROOM. There, she learned the move Crash and Burn that pushes away people several feet at a time, and Crescent Crash and Burn that lets her kick her target in the ground like a railroad spike. Recently in Barovia, a young woman named Micah kicked her ass and then taught her how she did it. She learned the Super Micah Punch that basically turns Rakel into an air strike missile with a little sprinkle of burn damage. As a treat.

Apparel & Accessories

Rakel has a stealth suit that was pilfered from the corpse of an Ortemhan agent Arret had killed. Figuring it would send a message to the other agents that dare fuck with the Furies, Rakel had it dyed purple and fitted to herself. Outside of her stealth suit when in her downtime, Rakel likes to wear a short kimono-like purple dress around the ship.

Specialized Equipment

Rakel has an armory of magical weapons at her disposal including her favorites:

• A divine rifle that has the potential to heal slightly as well as deal radiant damage.
• A crossbow that inhibits the effects of healing items and spells.
• An adamantine chain whip she stole from an abusive ghost husband of a witch.
• Two shortswords fashioned from black dragon fangs.

...and more still in her bag.

Mental characteristics

Employment

She found work as a contractor first for the Sovereign Citizen under Petey. Whatever he needed done got done.  Later, she became co-captain of the ship working closely with Jimmy the Technical Director. Fought in arena battles under the title of the Fucking Furies as a side hustle.

Mental Trauma

Her trauma involving water both as a baby and after the hit on the circus left her with a fear of large bodies of water. If she is too close or touching water that she cannot see the bottom of, she will be thrown into a blind panic. She has no desire to learn to swim.
The loss of her family in the circus has given her a constant fear of being left alone. Though she is thankful and truly loves her new family and friends, she still can't shake the very real possibility of losing everything she has grown to love again. Rakel has it in her head that she has some kind of curse to live when her loved ones- those she felt more deserving of life- die or are very hurt either directly or indirectly because of their proximity to her. The incident with Guster really got to her. Even after he was resurrected and returned to health, she feels extreme guilt and anxiety thinking about that time. She feels it when she sees his face, but tries to keep her cool.
Though she used to have an issue with guns because of how often they were used either in the ambush on her caravan or when her wing was shredded the first time, she has overcome that somewhat for her trusty rifle.

Personality Characteristics

Likes & Dislikes

Loves: Zephyr, her family on the Sovereign, downtime, winning at poker, acts of violence with the purpose of protecting others
Likes: Grackle snacks, weddings, parties, performances
Dislikes: Rude customers, boring meetings, strict high end galas, having to be diplomatic
Hates: Magpies, threats to her family and friends, being insulted, being useless

Virtues & Personality perks

She is a sharpshooter, fast as fuck, and insanely sneaky. She is very dangerous at both long range and even close quarters combat for a time.

Vices & Personality flaws

Vices: Smoking, drinking, conflict resolution through violence
Flaws: Unable/fearful to swim, frequent panic attacks, anger issues, struggles with diplomacy, frequently swears and lies (despite not being particularly good at either), survivors guilt, inferiority complex

Personality Quirks

When under stress, she will dig her claws into nearby wooden objects like tables or banisters. In her room you can see scratch marks in groups of four all over the wooden surfaces.

Species

Aarakocra

Age

7

Parents

Luba D'Avenir

Parents (Adopting)

Tegmund Wartooth

Current Residence

Sovereign Citizen

Pronouns

She/Her

Sex

Female

Gender

Female

Presentation

Feminine mostly

Eyes

Black and white bird eyes

Hair

None

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Black feathers with dark blue and green iridescence. Her left arm and wing has a lighter blue and yellow sheen to them.

Height

5ft

Weight

70lbs

Quotes & Catchphrases

"Sorina's Maiden-"

Aligned Organization

The Fucking Furies

Known Languages

Aarakocra, Abyssal, Auran, Common, Giant