Koehl Mazarine

Growing up in in the Third Age, Koehl found herself victim to constant movement, though she managed to escape most violence. Her parents were attack during flight east, attacked by monsters as they flew under moonlight. After that, she trained herself to see better, and as a gun was was saved her family from death, she began learning to shoot, to smith, and to protect herself and others. Koehl found she was best suited to building, though effective at firing.

--1st year of 4th age; nobody (20) --
Mazarine moves through eastern Damasta and Waren, eventually ending up on a floating city in Hila, the Nezberut. There, she comes to her own as a gunsmith of note, repairing and upgrading weapons as ships pass through. She makes a few friends, takes a lover, an avoral sailor who passes through Nezberut on occasion, but her work supplies her days.

--2nd year of 4th age; nobody (19) --
Second Spring, Nezberut is attacked, the city as a whole, by a group of Pirates, the Boss' gang rebuilt. The Seige is bloody and Mazarine loses most of the friends she made. Her back is scarred, but she manages to roll herself out of harms way, dropping through the innards of the city (in between ship hulls), and finding safety underneath the lower decks. Angry and vengeful, she flies to the pirate ships and starts sabotaging their balloon rigging. Of the five ships, she disconnects 4 ships of their elevation cabling systems before she's noticed and has to shoot her way out, shooting hull near a window and throwing herself out into the sky. She flies back to Nezberut in time to watch the pirates unload cannonfire into the outer ships. Once again, she dives under and finds her way back to her forge, where she packs what she can as the city is under fire. She takes what she can and tearfully dives, skimming the cloudfloor and eventually reaching Villay, Hila.

In Villay, she immediately makes for the nearest blacksmith, meeting the feeble man there, she begs the use of his forge to go over her gear. Confused and amused, old man Carrowan agrees. Mazarine rebuilds her damaged guns and leaves behind schemeatics for several of the pieces of gear on he smithy wall as thanks. The pair eats together and Mazarine recounts her fall from Nezberut. When asked where she'll go, she doesn't know. With her forge destroyed, she debates finding place on a ship, to try something new. Carrowan suggests the job board near the milita outpost. The blues that were previously stationed in the city were snapped up by the wars last age, so there are more than usual requests.

As Mazarine gets herself sorted, trying to arrange for work and lodging, Villay is rocked by a scandal; the governor's husband is cheating, found in a dockside brothel drunk and loudly proclaiming unmentionable rumours. Mazarine, who was just getting a cheap bite to eat, is pinned as one of the husbands lovers (despite not being possible). Confused and not knowing what else to do, Mazarine lets herself be arrested.

In prison, she meets a wandering mask salesman (me proxy) who asks her of her life and choices and such. Suspicious but forthcoming, Mazarine recounts her life to date up to and including sitting in jail with the salesman. He asks what her goal is, what she's striving for. She's not sure, she refuses to let her or end rotting jail. The salesman laughs and guarantees a mask just for her, to help her on her way. He produces a block of wood from under his cot, a knife and starts to whittle. As he does, he tells her an old story.

--The Salesman's Story--
Long ago when the spires weren't mapped, before the ursa came to be, before humanity had learnt to sail the skies, avorals lived in their aeries scattered along the outer rim. In one such aerie, there lived a young avoral who was quite put upon, much like yourself. She found herself under lock and key, and in her jail, she met another, much like myself. Not human, of course, humans were inventive, wily food for avorals back then. The young girl was very upset at her situation, but stubborn and determined to uphold her honour, for honour as it is now, was even more important back then. And her companion in the cell's darkness told her a story.

He said, "Many think honour is a matter of who is right and who is wrong. Many live and die for this belief, but I have seen honour's face and they are wrong. Honour is scarred, scared and hurt. Honour is your blood spilling hard and fast, lost in the storm's wind and rain. Honour is the will to survive."

And so saying, her companion was revealed to be the dried bones of the last prisoner. Thus, the prisoner set to her task, clawing and digging into her jail's walls. It was two weeks before she managed to break free, desperate, angry, and mad wth hunger and thirst. In the black of night she broke free of her jail and flew off into the night, raiding her home village for food, drink, and gold before flying off into the sunset, carried only by her wings."

"And the moral of your story is?"

The salesman smiled and blew shavings from the mask he was carving. "What moral? The young one should have died, should have stayed quiet in her cell until summoned, even if that meant dying at her captor's whim. But morality and honour aren't one and the same. The girl survived, and that is the story."

"Seems an odd story with an odd moral, cut and run."

"Most old stories have blunt points, but it is just a story. Take it with you as you sleep."

And so Mazarine drifted off to sleep, listening to the salesman whittle long into the night. When morning came, and Mazarine woke, his cell was empty, but she found a mask lying in the space between bars. It was of a longer beaked bird, a hawk or an asugu, but it fit her perfectly.

--Trial and Flight from Villay--
With Mazarine set up as scapegoat and unnerved by her neighbours disappearance, though he was just escorted out before she woke, she is fed and watered, though forgotten a bit. Four days later, a trial is called, and she is slandered pretty heavy, but doesn't flee. She has never met either the governor nor her husband, having just arrived. Despite this, she is sentenced to jail for six months. Outraged, she debates fleeing, but instead decides to wait out her sentence. She builds herself up, training herself with what she has over the winter.

>str and great gust, +four skill, brawler

Upon release, she takes her mask, herself, collects what she left at the smiths house, who had thought her dead or gone, but hadn't thrown out her possessions after a meal, her gear and what little gold she has, she decides to leave by her own wing, not content to hoard a ship.

Mazarine flies from spire to spire, following the iron tail soar, ending up in the desolation of Lese. The town is finally starting to rebuild, though mostly because wind and rain have made a small basin lake out of the meteor craters. The settlement is a sturdy, superstitious lot, insular, protective, and with a high frequency of witches developing naturally (after effect of the Abomination's destruction). The previous town's buildings are mostly ruins, where children and explorers sneak to and play.

Flies to Anthem, and then onto to Captica, Hila's capital.

--3rd year of 4th age; nobody (18) --
Mazarine finds work in various dock smithies, earning enough gold to get a roost flophouse in the city's poor quarters. She steadily regains her losses, though never fully planting herself in a new home.

A month in, she's sought out by a group of criminals, one of whom frequented her shop in Nezberut. The group is looking for pistol work, and while she jumps at it, she has no gun-ready workshop. A deal is struck, and they bring her to a workshop (owner was disposed of). If she outfits and joins them for a heist on one of the mansions in the rich district, the forge and shop is hers, as is a cut. She agrees, far too eager to return to a life of proper smith work.

She acts as lookout and break in during the heist, and while not great, she is functional. She takes part in a few more heists, upgrading her shop and tools. Not long after, a bounty gets put out for the group (she is mentioned as avoral, but due to the mask, not the same shape). She thanks her partners and welcomes them back as customers, but decides to retire back into a gunsmith as they all catch boats leaving the city. Assuming she'll be made a scapegoat (which she is made), Mazarine packs up her shop proper this time, moves to the slums to hide for a few days while she scouts out a boat to take her.

The Sia is looking for a weaponsmaster, and while Mazarine doesn't know much about naval weaponry, she fixes the first mate and captain's pistols on the spot with pocket tools, instantly spotting that their mechanisms aren't clean. Captain Lewis Luvibond is impressed, though Ptah, the first mate, is less certain, as Mazarine hasn't any real ship experience, nor experience leading as a weaponsmaster. Mazarine fully agrees, but is eager to learn, and excited to have a moving forge and workshop. After Ptah asking around, Mazarine's criminal activities come to light, which speaks well of her rather than against.

Mazarine's journey continues on with the Sia, her new home.