Name:
Leonis Damarien Castigan
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Nickname:
Leo, Leon, Arien, Ari
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Age:
25
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Gender:
Male
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Sexuality:
Heterosexual
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Appearance:
Leonis is the kind of man whose presence lingers long after he's gone, like salt in the air before a storm. Standing at a lean 6'1", he cuts an imposing figure, equal parts grace and danger. His body is the result of years at sea and experience in battle, a blend of wiry muscle and agile strength, built for fluid motion, brutal efficiency, and commanding presence. His skin is sun-kissed and wind-burned, a deep bronze that speaks of a life spent beneath open skies and relentless sun. Thick black curls fall just to his shoulders, usually tied back for practicality, though a few stubborn strands always escape, framing his sharply cut features. His eyes are perhaps his most arresting feature, a vivid green, too bright to be natural, too intense to look away from. They shine like emerald glass lit from within, constantly calculating, constantly watching.
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A constellation of faded scars marks his skin, the map of a life hard-earned. One slices across his collarbone; another, more jagged arcs just beneath his ribs. He prefers to remain clean-shaven, though after long voyages, a shadow of stubble often outlines his jaw. Leonis dresses with precision but not extravagance. A black captain's coat lined in deep green, worn leather boots, belts for weapons, and a silver serpent-shaped clasp on his high collared shirt. Every piece he wears has a purpose, a story, a memory, and when he walks, he does so like the sea itself: calm, powerful, and always a few steps away from violence.
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Personality:
Leonis is the embodiment of the storm held at bay. He is collected, charming, and quiet... that is until he no longer needs to be. He possesses a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, with a voice that can soothe a frightened crew or turn a threat into a promise. Charisma rolls off him as naturally as sea spray from his coat, but behind his easy smile lies a dangerous mind that is always assessing and always three steps ahead. He prefers not to lead through fear, but rather through presence, the kind that demands attention and refuses to be questioned. Calculated and cool-headed, Leonis rarely shows his hand before it's already at his opponent's throat.
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Though young, he carries himself like a man who has seen too much to be surprised and lost too much to be sentimental. Loyalty, however, is sacred to him. He will protect his crew without hesitation, and those who earn his trust find a captain who would burn cities for them. That said, betrayal is the one thing he never forgets, nor forgives. He has a code, one forged in blood and salt, and while it doesn't always align with the world's idea of morality, it is unwavering.
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Leonis is not without flaws. Pride follows him like a shadow, and he struggles to let go of the ghosts that haunt him, the fall of his family, the taste of vengeance, the fear of becoming the very monster the world once accused him of being. Beneath his polished armor of wit and steel lies a man who has never quite stopped running, not just from the navy or the legends that follow him, but also from the version of himself he fears the most.
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Hobbies:
Leonis does not have "hobbies" in the traditional sense. Every pastime of his is sharpened by purpose or tinged with nostalgia. But in the quiet moments between storms, these are things he turns to.
Mapmaking & Star Navigation: He finds comfort in the certainty of maps and the constellations of the stars. It's a skill Ravion drilled into him, but Leonis has made it an art. Charting the unknown gives him a feeling of control.
Knife Tricks & Weapon Maintenance: He often flips or spins his dagger absentmindedly when deep in thought. Polishing, sharpening, and balancing his weapons is almost meditative.
Tactics Games / Chess Variants: He is fond of strategy games and will challenge crewmates to them, not just out of boredom but also to familiarize himself with their way of thinking.
Swimming in Open Water: Alone, usually at dawn. He says it clears his mind. Some of the crew suspects it's the only place he ever feels truly free.
Singing (Only in Private): Leonis has a surprisingly rich, soulful singing voice, something few ever hear. He often hums to himself while navigating the sea or patching wounds below deck. Sea shanties, lullabies, or songs from his childhood are his favorites. It's one of the few things that brings him peace and carries a small echo of the past to him.
Sketching & Drawing: He keeps a leather-bound sketchbook tucked away in his cabin, filled with illustrations of places he's seen, old faces he can't forget, and dreamlike renderings of ships and monsters. His hand is steady and skilled, the linework graceful.
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Strengths:
Charismatic Leader: He inspires fierce loyalty, not through cruelty, but through magnetism, sharm wit, and unwavering confidence. His crew would die for him.
Swordsmanship & Close-Quarters Combat: Trained relentlessly from a young age, Leonis fights with fluidity and grace. His movements are a blend of dance and death.
Strategic Mind: He sees the battlefield like a game of chess. His victories are often earned before a single cannon fires.
Unshakable Composure: Storms, mutinies, ambushes, none shakes him. He retains a calm composure even in the midst of chaos.
Polyglot: He knows several languages, useful for trade, espionage, and navigating foreign waters.
Loyal & Protective: Once someone has earned his trust, he protects them with the fury of a man who knows what it's like to lose everything.
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Weaknesses:
Haunted by the past: He still carries guilt over surviving when his family did not, especially with his brother Darian. Nightmares and unresolved grief weigh heavily on him.
Trust Issues: Betrayed once, he is wary of alliances and new faces. Even those who are close to him often feel the wall he keeps around his heart.
Reckless When Angry: Though usually calm, cool, and collected, if someone threatens his crew or harms someone he cares for, he acts without thinking, a dangerous thing for a captain such as himself.
Fear of Intimacy: Love, romance, and vulnerability terrify him. Such feelings go against everything Ravion taught him, and he doesn't believe someone like him deserves that level of happiness, not really.
Perfectionist: Whether in swordplay or leadership, Leonis demands the best from others, but especially from himself. Failure hits him hard.
Possessive of The Eidolon: It's more than a ship to Leonis. It's his sanctuary and his inheritance. Any threat to it brings out the darkest parts of him.
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Background:
The House of Castigan once stood as a pillar of loyalty in the court of the Eastern Empire. A noble line revered not only for its naval mastery, but for its unyielding honor. Their fortress estate sat on the sea-swept cliffs of Castigan Isle, a strategic stronghold coveted by many but held for generations by the blood and Steel of Leonis' ancestors. They built ships for kings, mapped tides long before the Empire claimed them, and were considered the monarch's most trusted coastal wardens. But trust, like the tide, can turn.
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When Leonis was only nine, the kingdom was gripped with unrest. Whispers of rebellion stirred in distant ports, and suddenly, a letter surfaced, false orders, bearing the Castigan seal, instructing the movement of imperial ships into a trap. The sabotage was swift. Dozens of vessels destroyed, hundreds dead, and all fingers pointed to House Castigan. A lie and a perfectly orchestrated betrayal. The court, desperate for blood and absolution, condemned the Castigans as traitors. No trial, no defense, and the king himself ordered the purge.
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The attack came under moonless skies. Leonis remembers the flames before the screams, and the red light painting the sea like blood. His father died defending the gates. His mother was slain in the chapel. His elder sister and brother fought alongside the guards. And it was Darian, his second eldest brother, who dragged him from his bed, placed a blade in his shaking hands, and shoved him down into the tunnels beneath the estate. "Live." Darian had said and closed the door. Leonis never saw him again.
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He emerged days later in a world that already considered his name cursed. Orphaned, hunted, and half-mad with grief, Leonis wandered the coast for weeks, stealing, hiding, and surviving by instinct alone. He might have died in the gutters of Port Caldrith had Ravion Merrow the Ghost Captain not found him. This man was a feared and elusive pirate lord who captained the Eidolon, a vessel as mythical as the man who steered her. No one knew why Ravion took the boy in. Perhaps it was pity. Perhaps he saw something in Leonis: rage, cunning, potential. Whatever the reason, Ravion didn't coddle him; he forged him into a dangerous man and an equally dangerous weapon.
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At first, Leonis scrubbed decks, learned knots, and bled for discipline. Then after a year, he began to train under Ravion's brutal hand in swordplay, in strategy, in the art of commanding men who would rather slit his throat than follow any order he gave. He grew into his sea legs, into his fury, and into his brilliance. He never forgot his brother's sacrifice, his family's death, or the Castigan. He will never use his last name, not until he has earned it back.
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When Ravion was killed during a skirmish off the Shattershoals, it was Leonis who took command of the Eidolon. There was no vote or challenge, just a boy of nineteen standing over the dying man who had been his captain, his father, his teacher, and accepting his legacy in silence.
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Since then, Captain Leonis Damarien has carved a legend from the bones of betrayal. He does not speak of his past, and no one knows his true identity or the noble blood that flows through his veins.
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Other:
Ship's Name: The Eidolon
Notable Crew Members:
First Mate: Talia Vexmoor - a former naval officer turned traitor, fiercely loyal and dangerously smart.
Quartermaster: Boon Redjaw - massive ex-gladiator, has a severely scarred face, speaks in short, curt phrases.
Navigator: Elian Drae - although blind in one eye, he reads the stars better than any scholar.
Cook/Surgeon: Mira "Rat" Kisune - rumored to have been a poisoner before Leonis saved her.
Weapons: A custom cutlass with a blackened hilt and a green inlaid gem. And a flintlock pistol.
Winter Month: 2 
Night 
Fog Moon: 
