The Kraken

The Kraken is the human captain of the Desperado. She was once a legendary pirate but has since reformed. She now manages a (mostly) legal fishing business.

Appearance
The Kraken is very tall, with long, braided black hair and dark brown skin. She typically wears a long black coat which is somewhat tattered along with thick knee-high boots. There is always a silver locket around her neck.

Personality
Described by many as intimidating, the Kraken has a strict moral code and is unrelenting when it comes to it. Despite her general mannerisms and attitude, she cares about her crew immensely.
 * Strengths: Formidable, steadfast, caring
 * Weaknesses: Uncompromising, gruff, unsociable

Background
The Kraken was once of the best pirates on the Eadrenan. She garnered quite the reputation but eventually reformed and became involved in the fishing trade instead. She tends to have a difficult time working with the wizards of Atemcester in particular, though she might secretly enjoy arguing with them.

It is unknown as to why she left the pirate lifestyle despite seeing so much success with it, but quite a few theories exist.

Unbeknownst to the Kraken, Aske helped Reides stowaway on her ship in 597. During this voyage, the Kraken was breaking an international treaty by encroaching on waters very close to Laverathia.

Atemcester Arc
The Kraken met the Pog Champions through Aske, who directed them to the Desperado when Reides asked him about securing passage to Aquos. During their meeting with her, the Pog Champions attempted to persuade the Kraken to transport them through the massive storm that raged over the Eadreanan. Jorah offered to charter the Desperado for triple the normal rate; however, the Kraken deemed this as "not nearly enough" and dismissed Kilwin's offered healing abilities as "not fast enough in that kind of storm." While she seemed resistant to striking a deal, she began to listen to the group once more when Reides presented the voyage to her as a legendary challenge that only she and her crew could meet.

Opting for transparency, Reides told her about the existence of Aquos, though he only described it as "[his] home," and Jorah bumped up the price to eight times the regular going rate in an attempt to account for the dangers of the storm. However, the Kraken still refused the Pog Champions' request. She justified this by having Reides circle Aquos' location on a map, then pointed out that ships were barred from that area by international treaty. This made the proposed route an illegal one. Reides then revealed that he saw the Desperado in those illegal waters once before, though he was unwilling to reveal that he was a stowaway and instead lied, saying it was due to living in those waters at the time and having a good memory.

While the exchange was rather tense, the Kraken finally named her price: 1500 gold for the group. Any attempts at haggling down from this price were shot down, and the Pog Champions ended up splitting the total cost so that each of their five members paid her 300 gold. Jorah reached out to shake on the agreement and received the firmest handshake of his life - a favor which he returned. The Kraken stated that her price ensured that the livelihoods of her crew were secured, as they all have families on shore. They set the date of the Desperado's departure to Leaffall 28.

As the Pog Champions left her quarters, Jorah commented that it was rare to go to sea with a legend. This made the Kraken smile slightly.

Goals
The Kraken seeks to make gold - and lots of it. She is also extremely protective of her crew.

Abilities
Due to her reputation on the high seas, it can be assumed that the Kraken is an above-average seafarer.

The Kraken and Aske
The Kraken has no qualms with ordering Aske around and is completely unfazed by his very obvious jumpiness around her. Even though his witticisms sometimes annoy her quite a bit, she cares about him immensely as a member of her crew. She once slapped him with a fish, as she thought he laughed at her.

Quotes

 * "Aske... Who are these people and what are they doing on my ship?"

Trivia

 * The Kraken is briefly featured in the second Reides-centric short story.
 * The Kraken is briefly featured in the second Reides-centric short story.