Name
Jubal
Age
72
Gender
Male
Sexuality
Homosexual
Species
Myrleon
Rank
King
Desired Rank
Truth be told, Jubal could do without being the king. He’s always fancied being a hunter.
Thoughts On The Other Clans
Jubal has always been eager to make peace with the Soleans, and they’ve had good foreign relations for a while. He’s definitely trying to keep that going, since he knows they might blame the Myrleons for what happened. As for the Kothes, Jubal has been trying to get along with them as well. He knows they’re asking way too much, and he’s aware that the Kothes are in the right. But hey, can they blame the Myrleon for not being eager to die? He’s just going to charm his way right into their good graces, he’s certain of it.
Voice
Jubal’s voice is fairly deep and hoarse, though it doesn’t exactly sound old. It just has a rasp to it, like someone’s who’s been smoking most of their life.
Appearance
Jubal’s skin is the dark brown of unsweetened chocolate, while his bioluminescence stands out starkly in shades of bright red. His markings are especially thin and complex, with the gossamer thinness of a spider web and markings in between that look almost like the writing of some ancient language, though they certainly don’t match anything existing today. They cover his whole body, but are most predominant on his left side. He bears an upturned crescent moon on his forehead, a marking he shares with his daughter. His face is curved and fairly oval-shaped, with a slight point at his chin. He has a particularly youthful look for his age. His eyes are slightly large and slanted, like those of a cat. He has icy blue eyes with a hint of green, making them something like a light teal. This is the only part of his human appearance that seems slightly out of the ordinary, and even those aren’t unheard of on real humans. His brows are thick and dark, set fairly high over his eyes. He has thick lips and a fairly straight and large nose. He has a small metal stud earring in one of his ears, and a couple of small loop piercings along his right eyebrow. Although it’s tradition for most merfolk to have longer hair, Jubal has opted to clip his short, so that the longest strand only reaches the nape of his neck. It’s a coal black that appears to have a dark green tint underwater, and is slightly wavy. Because of the shortness of his hair, the faint glow of the red markings on his scalp can be seen from under his hair.
As a fighter, Jubal is in very good shape, and he’s fairly muscular. He has toned arms and a strong upper body, with a thick neck and broad shoulders. He has lighter skin on his palms, and his fingernails are strong and fairly long. His tail is about five feet long, and is a scattering of colors like a koi fish. The base is white, with larger red-orange patches along it. Atop these are smaller splatters of black. His scales are prominent and large, with a beady look to them. His fluke mimics this pattern, looking like part of the tail rather than a separate part. It fans out widely, and looks like the fluke of a betta fish, with a slightly translucent towards the edges.
Jubal is fond of bioluminescence, and wears a number of things that provide him extra light. The colors are wildly different, and clash terribly with his dark skin and red markings. He has a large necklace with a sea snail’s shell on it, glowing in light blue and pink. He has smaller strands around his wrists, and around his waist in the form of a belt. He often carries with him a human-made metal lantern with a small yellow comb jelly in it. Besides thi and his piercings, he’s bare of jewelry. He used to wear quite a lot. Any time anyone commented that they liked this or that piece of jewelry, he would take it off and give it to them. Now he has no way of getting new jewelry, though he’s played with the idea of going to a shipwreck or two to look for shinies. For now, though, Jubal has very little to adorn himself with except entirely too much glow. He doesn’t bother with wearing armor all the time, though this would certainly seem to be the time to do so. But he does have armor, which is made mainly of coral and stone. He prefers human armor, but most of it won’t survive long down here. As king, he has a crown which he never actually wears. Similarly to the princess’s crown, it’s somewhat halo-shaped and adorned with gemstones. His is made of staghorn coral and auger shells, with cassiterite decorating it. It’s easily secured to his head with something like a strap made of reinforced seaweed.
Personality
There are a few things a king ought to be. He ought to be responsible, for one. He ought to be wise enough to lead his people, and intelligent enough to plan for the future of his clan. These are the traits that make a good and balanced leader, and these are the traits that Jubal never possessed. His younger sister always had more of the drive and wisdom for the job, but the way their society works, it’s always the eldest. And, well, Jubal was the eldest, so he didn’t have a lot of choice. His whole life, he’s pawned off his duties on his family. For a while it was his little sister, until she passed away. He’s left nobles in charge, and as his daughter got older, he would mostly let her take care of the clan while he’s been away. In fact, the thing he’s most known for in his clan is his constant absences. A king should have loyalty to his subjects above all else, because what is a king with no kingdom? But Jubal can’t be bothered to stay and rule over the people who trust him to care for them. It’s not that Jubal is avoiding them, or that he doesn’t want to be king. But with a world of adventure out there, how could he possibly tie himself down to one place, one group? He doesn’t seem to form attachments the way other people do. He’s very affectionate with his loved ones, touchy-feely and constantly giving them gifts, but this is different from real attachment. He loves his homeland, but he’s happy to be up on the solid ground too, among humans in their towering towns. He’s happy to be with his people, but he’s even more enthralled by the idea of meeting new people, strangers who drift through his life. He adores his children, and is always glad to see them, but can spend years away from them. Chunks of his life are spent on something or someone before he simply up and leaves, like it didn’t mean anything to him. He doesn’t even seem to realize how this might hurt people, and when they confront him about it, he’ll always say he never asked them to be so attached to him. The exception is his children, who he would never blame or dismiss for wanting him around. He tries to be there, but the most he can do is feel guilty when he leaves her alone for too long. He’ll always come back bearing gifts and stories, expecting and hoping to be welcomed back as though nothing changed while he was gone. He’s a drifter, and even if he has good intentions, he often takes the people in his life for granted.
Jubal has spent most of his time living among humans. Everything about land and the people who inhabit it fascinate him. He loves the things they have up there that aren’t underwater: fire, falling petals, soft fruit, the pull of gravity. Jubal’s people have always been closest with the humans, and their culture is closest to those of land-dwellers nearby, adopting the royal structure of some places. Where they used to live, they were mostly near small, rustic coastal towns, and though they had a rough idea of the technology of humans, it was never a main priority. Jubal strayed once or twice to the more modern homes of humans, but found them complicated and constantly rushing to and fro. He prefers the cozy and simple lives of the humans in the towns along the shoreline. As a result, even he doesn’t know too much about the technology of humans, more interested in their customs and culture than their inventions. Despite his love for their slow and calm pace of life, Jubal himself is more fast-paced and full of energy. There’s so much to see and do, and Jubal is constantly roving about, looking for a new experience. He goes where his whims take him, without a lot of thought for what the consequences will be. This is how he leads as well, and though it can be dangerous sometimes, some members appreciate his quick decisions. There are moments when he hesitates, and those are typically the moments when things go completely wrong. Once in a while, he slows down to appreciate something beautiful. He doesn’t rush through time spent with loved ones. And he can sit quietly to see the sun setting, or a school of fish glittering as they swim in spirals. He appreciates things of beauty, poetry and art and what nature has to offer.
The Myrleon have been peaceful people for a long time, and Jubal has always considered that the best way for them. He doesn’t want to do a political dance of foreign relations, trying to keep the peace when everyone can feel the tension. He doesn’t want to strategize around the idea that his clan might be at war some day. He has open and honest relations with the other leaders, hoping this will be enough to keep the Myrleon on their good side. The Myrleon have been known as pushovers and weaklings, and Jubal doesn’t want anyone to think of them that way, but if that’s the price for maintaining peace, so be it. He’s equally as open in his personal relationships, wanting everything out in the open. There’s nothing that bothers him quite like people he’s close with keeping secrets from him. He takes it as a personal insult, a way of saying they don’t trust him. Even if he’s never around, he always wants to know what’s going on in his children’s lives when he comes back. Though he may not stay in relationships very long, he wants complete honesty while it still lasts. He’s a notorious flirt, but he makes it clear right off the bat that he’s not interested in anything serious. He addresses any problems head-on, wanting to work through them quickly so they can be resolved. He never had much talent for lying or bluffing, and since this is often part of politics, he leaves the negotiations and alliance to his daughter, who makes a much better ruler than him anyway.
Jubal isn’t exactly an aggressive person, but he’s certainly no pacifist either. He’s always been fond of the art of fighting, and especially show-fighting and dueling. He’s a good fighter both on land and in the water, and he never worries much about getting hurt when he’s fighting. Jubal has had his fair share of injuries, and he doesn’t get too bothered by them now. He’s not exactly quick to fight, but he’s protective of his family and loved ones, and quick to jump into the ring to defend them. He has a surprising temper when he’s fighting like this, and his style is quite different from the art and charm of a show fight. He keeps pushing forward with a barrage of attacks, using his stamina and brute force to keep his opponent from getting a blow in. He’s actually better at this than he is at the delicate fencing-style of a fight without danger. All the same, he always fights fair, and he always observes the rules and customs for any given fight. He’s easily beaten by dirty tricks, because he never expects them and is totally affronted by them. When he’s fighting and when he’s not, Jubal is always alert and aware of everything going on around him. Years of traveling from place to place have taught him that you need to know what’s going on around you at all times if you want to stay out of danger. Despite this, Jubal is having trouble lately with his vision. It’s just that, after so long living on land and along the sunny shores, he’s not used to the darkness of the Kothes’ homeland. This is why he’s covered himself with every kind of bioluminescence he can find to help him see. And, since he’s spent most of his time on land, he’s not nearly as coordinated as many of the other merpeople. It’s not immediately noticeable, but he’s just a little slower and more awkward underwater, and expends a lot more energy trying to get from one place to another.
Strengths
Friendliness
Human Knowledge
Functioning on Land
Quick Thinking
Energy
Cheerfulness
Beauty Appreciation
Peacefulness
Honesty
Openness
Fighting
Generosity
Weaknesses
Detachment
Irresponsibility
Wandering
Unwillingness to Fight
Negotiating
Lying
Poor Eyesight
Uncoordinated
Trust
Lack of Loyalty
Likes
Humans
Giving Gifts
Aesthetic Beauty
Land
Eating Fish
His Children
Show Fighting
New Experiences
Travel
Freedom
Flirting
Honest People
Sailors
Telling Stories
Dislikes
Dry Weather
His Face Being Touched
Being Tied Down
Dull Routine
Big Cities
Darkness
Night
War
Clingy People
Plastic
The Cold
Crush
Open
Jubal isn’t known for his loyalty to a specific partner, and if he does have a crush, it probably won’t last too long.
Spouse
Obviously, Jubal’s kids have a mother, but he’s not interested in women. If the queen role did wound up being taken, they likely wouldn’t be a real couple. They’d just be together for the purpose of heirs and a balanced kingdom.
Children
Calypso
Daughter
Jubal loves his daughter, and he’s always trusted her to look after herself. When she was younger, he let her have a lot more free reign than most parents, and when she showed leadership qualities, he essentially turned the clan over to her, though he’s still technically in charge. He wants to be close with her, and loves to give her gifts and spend quality time. But he’s also away for sometimes years at a time. He enjoys it most when she comes to land with him. Sometimes he acts more like a big brother than a father, and he certainly was never strict with her. Sometimes that was a good thing, sometimes not.
Zyaire
Son
Maybe Zyaire and Jubal have a slightly difficult relationship, but they still love each other. Jubal can understand that it's hard to forgive a father who's never present. Zyaire certainly will complain about his father, but when it comes down to it, he'll readily defend him. Jubal, for one, keeps trying to connect with Zyaire, though he doesn't really know enough about his son to pull that off well. It's clear that Jubal is more a ease with Calypso.
Kin
This is open to change, and we can definitely include more kin. If anyone wants to play any of these roles they can definitely replace what I have now.
Gal
Father
Gal was a stable and peaceable king, and was beloved by the clan. He was strong as a stone and maintained good relations with the other clans. He took a lot of time and effort to try and whip Jubal into shape. He kept encouraging Jubal, telling him he would get better. Eventually Jubal found his encouragement unbearable, and would go out of his way to avoid his father, knowing his optimism was all for nothing.
Maya
Mother
Gal was a wonderful king, but Maya, she could only be called an acceptable queen. Though she was technically the heir who had elevated Gal to royal status, she was always a little lazy, and let Gal do most of the work. She was especially fond of Jubal, and was constantly distracting him and taking him away from his work to have fun with her. He loved her, and when she and Gal argued, he was always on his mother’s side.
Adva
Younger Sister
Jubal’s little sister was always a little smarter than him, and she would have been a better leader. They both knew that. But Adva didn’t resent Jubal, and they were very close. When Jubal was younger, he buckled under the pressure of ruling. Adva took over a lot of his duties, until he abandoned most of them, trusting Adva to pick up the slack. When Jubal was forty-six, Adva got sick and died.
Affiliations
TDB