Jane Barnaby

BACKSTORY
Jane Barnaby grew up as one of many children in a middle class family. When a disease came to her city and took the majority of her loved ones from her, the young lass turned to pirating to be able to afford her father’s medicine. But by the time she returned from her first venture, she found that her remaining relatives had all passed in her absence. Heartbroken and alone, she returned to the pirates, which she had come to view as a second family, and stayed with them, although vowing to avoid killing unless absolutely necessary. There, she found her knack for leadership and her love for ‘shinies’.

Eventually, she found her way to the Isla de Oro, and met "Luxor" Jones upon landing. They hit off an easy friendship, and he presented her with a very unusual gift: a very large, scaly egg, the likes of which neither of them had ever seen. At first apprehensive, she quickly developed a bond with the embryo within, and resolved to care for it until whatever was inside made its way out and into the world. Naming it Eggy, she was never apart from her adoptee, and took him everywhere.

This was made difficult by the Nightwatch, as she was terrified by the unnatural undead walking about with impunity. Particularly since they appeared to take a keen interest in her as soon as she landed. One dark night, they resolved to make her join their crew, and sprang upon her as she walked alone through Darkwater Alley. They dragged her up to the cliff at the highest point of the Siren Caves, and without hesitation, Grim put a bullet in her head and kicked her over, to sink into the deep. She found herself at Davy Jones’ Locker, and he presented her with the Choice: join his crew, or drink damnation. Desperate in a way she couldn’t remember feeling before, she brought Eggy to bear before her, pleading with and then threatening the Lord of the Deep if he dared separate them. But upon sight of the scaly ovoid, a glint of recognition flashed in his eye, and with a slow smile, he spread his hands wide and acceded to her wishes.

With a nod, her vision went black, and when her senses returned, she was back on the shore of the Isle, the Nightwatch who had murdered her cast in a semicircle before her. She fled immediately, and they gave a merry (for them) chase across the length and breadth of the Isle. She ran and ran, ever further… and it took her some time to realize that she was not growing tired as she ought. She could just keep pumping her legs forever, she felt. In her bewilderment, Grim caught up with her and informed her of her new state and her inescapable destiny. With a resigned shrug, followed by a determined thrust of her chin, she decided that she would bear these odd creatures, so long as they did not come between her and Eggy. Thus resolved, she marched back to the town, and was welcomed into her new crew.

Her skills and confidence grew in equal measure, and she thoroughly impressed the Dread Lord in a very short time. He made his choice one clear morning, and in a profane ritual that she will not describe, she was hallowed as Dread Captain of the Graveyard Galleon, serving to lead her new crew with a welcome sense of decorum and discipline that made them even more fearsome and efficient than they had once been. Command of the Nightwatch has mostly, but not entirely, absolved her of her fear of walking skeletons, but she is sure to channel that fear, and make sure it benefits the Isle and her dear, beloved Eggy.

Update: With Eggy now hatched into a quacken-dragon (with help from Captain Eggouus, who developed a nearly obsessive fascination with her and her ward for obvious reasons), she continues to take care of him as an adoptive mother, giving him all the mangoes she manages to acquire on raids.

APPEARANCE AND GEAR

 * ‘Eggy’ is her constant companion, and now that he is hatched, is a great asset to her in her adventures. In function a duck with four kraken tentacles and a pair of dragon wings on top of the duck wings, the little one grows rapidly with every passing day, and already has a taste for the enemies of his caretaker.


 * In battle, once she has unleashed her pet, she wades in with a cutlass for close quarters battle, and a pair of flintlocks for more distant enemies. The chaos sown by Eggy keeps her opponents entirely off balance, and she cuts them down with cold efficiency.


 * She has carved the Viking Compass into the center of her sternum, and with Isla magics, has enchanted it to be her guide. She is able to find her way through mazes of all sorts with it, and always comes onto the battlefield at an advantage due to its guidance.

PERSONALITY AND ABILITIES

 * Previously known as “Scaredy Skellie”, Jane does not immediately seem fit to fill a role so eponymous as Dread Captain. Whenever possible, she acts with compassion and kindness, and tries to take care of her undead crew the best she can. “No man left behind” is a concept she takes very seriously. She considers herself a protector of the Isla, much like the Quacken. She takes potential threats to her ‘flock’ very seriously and will chase them away like a shepherd dog. The only thing she prioritizes above them is Eggy, and will stop for nothing short of Davy Jones himself to ensure his safety and wellbeing.


 * She has an obsession for gemstones, and possesses a master jeweler’s knowledge and taste for any and all she comes across. If given half a chance, she will expound at length about their every virtue, down to the finest minutiae. Rumors are whispered that she has a stash of them hidden somewhere, filled with her most incredible finds.


 * She has developed a dislike of her own reflection. Though she has resigned herself to her role, she still bears some resentment for being forced into the Nightwatch, though she refuses to take her anger out on the very same crew that pounced upon her and threw her into the Abyss. She actively minimizes reminders of the event, and as such there are no mirrors in her quarters.