Jarkin Kade

Second Petty Officer Kade Jarkin

A compliant and often misunderstood Sparnelli medic, Jarkin Kade is a far cry from the boisterous and impulsive reputation of his pyromantic family. He serves his Conscription under the command of Admiral Vox, patiently waiting his opportunity to retire from the Sparnell Armed Forces and settle down somewhere quiet with less people - and therefore less magic.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Kade has suffered from debilitating headaches his entire life, tentatively diagnosed as some form of magic allergy. This has stunted his career and earned him the derision of those in his unit seeking to make themselves look more impressive through bullying another.
Despite his transfer to a role of field medic, he still makes a habit of following the physical exercises he learned in his early TAG training, maintaining a more muscular physique than expected of most healers.

Mental characteristics

Employment

Upon discovery of Kade's skills in Necromancy, he was promptly Claimed by Admiral Vox and assigned training as a TAG. Always one for experimentation in pushing the boundaries of tradition, Vox likely saw this as an opportunity for experimentation in the viability of an offensive TAG, under the assumption that Kade would also easily master his Family's usual Elemental Magic.
Unfortunately for Kade, his allergy headaches made this career path untenable. After repeated failures to cure his condition - often relying on methods similar to those employed by his parents, at the advice of assorted experts Admiral Vox brought in on consultation - his mentor Selkirk Nero suggested Kade instead be transferred to classes in Curative Magic and Alchemy and assigned the role of a healer.
While the Jarkin Family made no attempt to hide their disappointment at this new turn of events, and the subsequent demotion that accompanied the reassignment, they nonetheless permitted him to retain the Family name. His training in Necromancy and Shielding Magic allowed him a notable albeit less prestigious roles of necromantic surgeon and field medic, depending upon Vox's fleet's current needs.

Mental Trauma

Kade has discovered he likes following orders, provided they align with his own moral compass and don't provide unnecessary pain - for himself or others. If someone else tells him what to do the he doesn't need to figure it out and can save his own mental processing skills for more important things. Like survival.
It's a habit he learned well, first as an attempt to survive childhood as a Jarkin - a reaction which runs counter to the impulsiveness forming the trademark of his Family name - and then as a mechanism to appear small and unimportant within the Sparnell Armed Forces under Admiral Vox.
Those who learned compliance and obedience rarely found themselves the center of attention, after all.
At least, not from the command staff. He's grown accustomed to shouldering the abuse of those seeking to look larger at his own expense. Many have taken the opportunity to bully a Jarkin, in the hopes the reputation of the Jarkin Family will make their actions seem brave despite the clear avoidance reactions of their prey.
He accepts this as his lot in life, a punishment for being born broken. By all rights, he believes he should have been Disowned by now, and can only imagine his Family keeps him around due to pity.

Morality & Philosophy

Kade never understood his Family's fascination with violence, fire, and impulsiveness. He prefers to plan things in advance as much as possible, maintaining a cool head and allowing logic to prevail.

Personality Characteristics

Savvies & Ineptitudes

While Kade registered as a rather powerful necromancer on the standard magic aptitude test administered to all new SAF conscripts, and has since proven himself a knowledgeable and capable healer, he nonetheless avoids casting magic unless absolutely necessary. This has earned him no small quantity of derision from most in his unit, but he'll do anything to avoid the headaches.
Since those around him have little inclination to avoid casting Magic, he often seeks solitude as an attempt at reprieve. Most view him as an introvert, with a noticeable awkwardness around others, but in truth he's quite lonely, and opens up easily to anyone who genuinely attempts to understand.
This has led to an unlikely friendship with Gorlik Riddle, despite Riddle's own addictions to constant magic casting - a habit they attempt to curb in Kade's presence, with mixed results.

Personality Quirks

Kade bites his lip when nervous or uncertain. He's since grown self-conscious of this reaction, courtesy of Selkirk Nero's attempts to train him out of the habit prior to his career transfer, which has only added additional layers of embarrassment on top of the emotions causing him to bite his lip in the first place.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Kade has struck up an unlikely friendship with the shapechanging battle mage Gorlik Riddle. While Kade prefers quiet away from the effects of magic, Riddle thrives on it, constantly changing their own shape and form to match their present mood and gender.
It is their differences that drew them together, as these same differences have labeled them both outcasts, rejected by all but each other.
At one point the pair attempted a more intimate arrangement, but this only lasted several months. Riddle found Kade too boring and compliant, the medic eagerly agreeing to whatever Riddle proposed without question or debate. For his part, Kade craved stability, something he had trouble finding with Riddle's constant shifts to their own appearance and personality.
By mutual agreement, they declared their romantic experimentation an unmitigated disaster, and settled back into a platonic friendship instead.

Family Ties

Kade never felt he fit in with his Family. His parents were loving enough, for Sparnelli, but even they never stepped in to save him from the derision of his siblings about his medical conditions. There were many attempts made to cure him, most demanding he push through the pain during intense magic sessions, leaving him seeking quiet and solitude every chance he could find.
He hasn't spoken to them much since his conscription, instead spending his leave in the quietest and most desolate places he can find, just for some personal space to recover from the demands of fleet and Family.

Known Magic
Curative Magic
Necromancy
Shielding Magic

Species

human

Conditions

• Attuned

Ethnicity

Sparnelli

Family

Jarkin Family

Pronouns

he/him

Gender

man

Other Affiliations

• Sparnell Armed Forces

Known Languages

Galactic Common
Sparnick

Further Reading