Ephemeral Skies Chapitre I

[Disciple of Sakura]

“I saw a star, I reached for it, and I missed. So I accepted the sky.”
~ Scott Fortini

Whether by happenstance or design, you have all found yourself as both passenger and crew aboard the White Falcon, a Valkyr-class airship that’s certainly seen better days. Ostensibly a merchant vessel, it is certainly a hive of rebel scum, folks determined to live the free life amongst the clouds, away from the jack-booted heel of the Consortium. The White Falcon plies the airways, picking up odd jobs and smuggling, boarding, and thwarting as best her captain can. Already, several of the crew are wanted in the eastern Vladamarl territories for piracy and sedition, so the White Falcon has recently migrated to the Emerald Cloud kingdom. Though the kingdom of Emerald Cloud is currently outside the Consortium’s direct control, they are still beholden to them for many of their resources, and Captain Shevat suspects that the Consortium’s front man for the region plans to tighten the noose any time.

The Ship

The White Falcon is a Valkyr-class airship equipped with some second hand elemental engines and outfitted to serve as a light merchant ship. Valkyr’s were used by military forces as well as for fast travel about thirty years ago, but have gone largely out of fashion as superior military and leisure ships have become available. Still, Captain Shevat has a soft spot for the “old bird” and does his best to keep it in the air. It’s interior has been modified to include several hidden caches for smuggling, as well as a reasonably stocked mess hall. For defense, the ship is still equipped with a trio of ballistae. It can hold three dozen passengers and crew, but typically runs with half that assortment.

The Crew

Captain Siddig Shevat Though he doesn’t like to talk about it, Captain Shevat once worked as a lieutenant in the Consortium’s armies. A career soldier, he never really questioned the motives or actions of his commanding officers, and followed with the program. After helping to subdue some “insurgents” in the Consortium-claimed Roebe Territories, he witnessed the extent to which the Consortium would go to control everything. Slavery, torture, and even wholesale slaughter of towns was not above some of his commanding officers, and Captain Shevat stole away with an airship and a handful of like-minded crew. Since that time, he’s lost several friends and acquaintances, and never once has he given up his fight against the Consortium. He typically leads raids on slave-holds or other targets, his rapier and dagger at the head of the charge. He is inspirational and charismatic, but he’s never had the opportunity to settle down. He sees his crew as his family, no matter how dysfunctional it may be.






Lyndie Kestrel Without Lyndie, the White Falcon would likely have fallen from the sky years ago. She’s got a knack for keeping the clunky old elemental engines on the ship in working order, though she’s certainly gone through more than a fair share of spellotape to keep everything running. A gifted and intelligent girl, she was orphaned ten years ago and raised by Captain Shevat. He thinks of her as a very promising daughter, and is more than happy with her skills as an artificer. He does his best to keep her out of any actual combat, however. Still, she’s got a bit of a sarcastic wit about her, and likes to have fun on her own every so often.








Thragan Gurn Old Thragan Gurn has seen one too many airships. He’s a bit of an eccentric old dwarf, with an odd sense of humor and a penchant for old yarns about wars everyone’s pretty sure never happened. He’s also a committed conspiracy theorist, seeing shadows and spies in every port. It’s probably because his own clanhold was undone by just such a scheming backstabber that he views the world that way, but he can be a bit too paranoid. Unlike a lot of dwarves, Thragan tries to stay out of combat, his old bones making it difficult to really do much moving around. He usually relies more on his handy mix of spells and travels throughout the ship sitting on a Floating Disc spell to keep the pressure off his bum left knee.









Jeine No one’s quite sure what to do about Jeine. She has all the subtlety of the greatsword she carries on her at all times and is certainly not one to pass up any opportunity for coin. As a skilled warrior, she’s got few that can compare. It’s as a person of polite company that she fails. A common attitude is that Jeine was likely raised by wolves – she’s uncouth, surly, and greedy with few redeeming characteristics. Her loyalty to Captain Shevat is tenuous at best, and Thragan is always convinced that she’s going to turn on the crew and kill everyone in their sleep. It wouldn’t surprise most people if she did, assuming the price was right.








Father Pierre D’Leon The traveling priest is a boon to the ship, helping patch folks up and keep everyone in much better shape after a scrap with the Consortium or other thugs. He’s quiet and keeps to himself, but he can be a pretty good listener. Unfortunately, he has to have special accommodations in the holding area of the White Falcon for three nights a month, when the full moon peaks and his lycanthropic affliction takes hold. Father D’Leon may be a gentle soul who’d rather heal you than hurt you, but the wolf inside him would kill everyone and their dog if those silver bars didn’t keep him contained. No magical cure has yet worked on Pierre, and he’s been plying the skies trying to find a cure for over three years to no avail.







Anafa Airabel The plucky halfling pilot of the White Falcon, Anafa was once a slave toiling away in the bowels of an energist mine for the Consortium until the place was shut down by Captain Shevat and his crew. Unfortunately, the soldiers of the Consortium managed to slay a few of the freedom fighters, including the old pilot. Anafa had never been behind the wheel of an airship before, but she hopped into the position and through sheer blind luck, managed to evade their pursuers. She’s stayed in the pilot’s chair ever since, helping keep the White Falcon one step ahead of her enemies. She’s fun to hang around with in general, but the rest of the crew have a strict policy to never gamble with her. She’s just too damn lucky.







Djalance Skyhawk Djalance has a keen eye, a flair for the dramatic, and a hair trigger. The half-elf with the voice of a song bird has plied the skies for quite a while, if his stories are to be believed. He’s only been on the White Falcon for the better part of nine months, and no one’s quite sure what exactly he did before that. He claims to have done time in a Consortium holding cell for several years, but the exact reason for his prison stint changes with each telling. If all the stories were true, he’d be the most dangerous man in the world armed only with a quill pen, but most of the crew is reasonably sure that he’s full of hot air. Doesn’t stop him from lifting everyone’s spirits as he fires one of the ship’s three ballistae at her enemies. In any port, he’s liable to be found fraternizing with the local barmaids, and his banter with Lyndie is amusing to everyone but Captain Shevat.







Ksenia Nadezhda Ksenia is a sneaky sort, always vanishing into crowds and avoiding detection. She likes practical jokes and eavesdropping, ever inquisitive and mischievous. The youngest noble of no less than thirteen daughters, she had no hope whatsoever of inheriting a dime of her family’s estate. She spent her youth idly spying on members of her father’s court, learning secrets and getting by through blackmail and extortion. Eventually, she became too much of a liability and one of her father’s rivals decided it’d be easier to simply eliminate her. Her father unfortunately agreed. Tipped off through her own spying, Ksenia stole away into the night, but not before strangling her father in his sleep as preemptive payback. She got mixed up in a handful of other pirate crews before finding herself on the White Falcon, where her keen eye has made her a reliable shot with the ballista and whatever thrown object she can lay her hands on in a skirmish. She likes to have dirt on everyone, but she can be pretty nice if you get past her otherwise standoffish exterior.






Sabine Edwarth The keen-eyed inhabitant of the White Falcon’s crow’s nest, Sabine doesn’t talk much. Despite his intense eyes, handsome features, and mane of flowing silver hair, most people give the aasimar a wide berth. It’s likely got something to do with his bizarre supernatural abilities, and the sulfurous stench that is left behind when he fires the bolts of raw magical energy at enemy ships. Everyone knows the basics of his story – Sabine was a carpenter once, with a wife and two children. He lost his family in some sort of horrific accident, and ever since then, he’s been a brooding, angry man with nothing really to live for. Why he even rides the White Falcon and lends his services to Captain Shevat is anyone’s guess. He certainly doesn’t answer them.







Casey “Chuckles” Gambolt The wise strongman of the White Falcon’s crew, Casey is a stoic and passive warrior who would rather spend his days meditating than engaging in the cut and thrust of battle. Dedicated to honing his physical body towards perfection, when he isn’t running laps around the deck of the White Falcon, he’s likely to be lifting weights or sitting in silence above the engine room. When the White Falcon gets embroiled in combat, he mans the last of the ballistae with a keen eye and meditative focus. In battle, he strikes with his bare hands. Most of the crew jokingly call him “Chuckles” despite his lack of a sense of humor. Anafa christened him with the name when he just didn’t seem to appreciate a single one of her jokes. It’s rumored that Lyndie and Chuckles had a fling for a while, but neither one of them will confirm or deny it.  

[Disciple of Sakura]

The skies are clear, the wind is in her sails, and the White Falcon cruises throughout the Blue with the grace of an arrowhawk. A slightly tipsy arrowhawk. You can feel the occasional shudder as the engines once again rebel against the skies, but Captain Shevat and Anafa look untroubled as they stand by the wheel, discussing their current heading. At the front of the ship, Chuckles sits in quiet meditation, while Djalance and Ksenia play a game of Three Dragon Ante beneath the sails, welcoming anyone else interested in getting in on the game. All is quiet as the crew waits for the next mission from the captain. A flutter of silver birds flaps past on the starboard side of the ship, their wings glinting in the sunlight.