Bastian O'Ruarc
Short Bio --- His birthplace is mysterious. Some say Ireland, others say England. Still some contest he is born to Spain. Whatever his real place of birth is, Bastian has proven himself an able-bodied swordsmen, sailor, and---as much as he would like to forget his past choices---a capable pirate. He's also been known to have respectable skills as a blacksmith, although he counts that as more a skilled interest then he does a working occupation. Born to an Irish father---whom's professional career of pirating landed him in the area between and around England & France---and a Spanish mother who worked a tavern at a French port, Bastian's destiny seemed to be as adventurous as that of his parents. Taking to his child, Bastian's father gave up the life of piracy for one of fatherhood. To a young Bastian, the father would tell tales of fiery pirate adventures on the high seas! Tales that would stick with Bastian for a lifetime. As time went on, Bastian would grow to be 7 years old. His once-pirate father and Spanish mother would settle down near the port where they met, striking a home, garden, and even a small field for growing food on a cliff overlooking the port and beautiful vastness of the blue sea. Bastian's father would trade in his cutlass for a plow and a local sailor's job. But tragically would strike early in Bastian's life and before his 8th birthday, a terrible tsunami swept near the port, destroying most of the port and crumbling Bastain's home with him and his parents inside of it. Bastian would be the only survivor, witnessing the terrible tsunami storm in all it's rage and holding his dying mother's body in his young hands. Bastian would, from then on until his teenage years, have a fear of the sea and storms that would keep him to dry land. A distant uncle heard of the tragedy that befell Bastian through sailors & pirates and moved from Ireland several months later, the intermediate time seeing Bastian confused and lonely in a local orphanage for a year. Upon his arrival, the muscular built hard working Uncle took in Bastian as his own and moved back to Ireland, where his wife was at. By 10 years old, Bastian was learning how to be a black smith, a swordsmen, and was becoming educated through a uncle that could read & write; he was also a hard working port worker. When he reached 17 years old, Bastian was fluent in 3 spoken languages & was well cultured in both local & distant social traditions, to the point of becoming a supervisor and even liaison at the port for different countries who would dock. Bastian was noticed by a passing-through English ship who had taken a fancy to the man's skills & education; taking an opportunity of a life-time, Bastian would leave behind his Irish homeland and travel to England, where he become even more educated at the top universities (thanks to the owner of the previous English ship that had passed through his Irish port). 2 years at university later and Bastian was sitting on the verge of leaving the hard working life of his father & his uncle for that of a educated world business man with his eyes set on international sea trade. Or so Bastian thought. Love would soon draw on the 20 year-old Bastian's heart and the young man would fall in love. As love blossomed, so did Bastian's desire to prove to her that he was the man she could not live without. However, on one fateful night, a storm was coming and Bastian had a very odd feeling that he should rescue his love from the coming storm. While trying, desperately, to get her to leave her coastal town for his further in land home near the university, a nightmare of a storm that sent Bastian back to his childhood hit the English town. Trying desperately to save his love, Bastian became unconscious when the roof at her parent's house collasped, killing the parents and knocking Bastian out. But when the roof collapsed, so did the wall and his love was swept out to the sea! Coming to, Bastian heard the cries of help from his love. But the memories of his past and the fear of the sea prevented him from acting as quickly as he could. He could see his love, trapped under the roof, that had slid into the sea and taken his love with it, but which now pinned her to rocks as the waves crashed into the rocks! She reached out to him, pleading to be rescued! But Bastian froze, haunted by his parents' deaths and the nightmare that was the ocean. Finally, he forced himself beyond his fear and rushed into the sea, swimming to the rocks where she lay. But his arrival was too late, as she took her last gasps and said, "Why did it take you so long, Bastian? Why?" As he struggled to frantically free her---and finally did so---her last words and a smile as she kissed him were, "I will always love you." With that, Bastian's love died in his arms, as he sat upon the rocks, the storm raging all around him. Wrecked with guilt, Bastian slumped into a depression. Leaving the university, he found tavern after tavern and eventually ran up a large enough debt of both money and various offenses and was soon sold as a slave to pirates for his unpaid bills. Joining a crew of piracy as a hollow, guilt wrecked drunkard, Bastian would soon learn that the sea would become his mistress and his fellow pirates his family. Soon, any pleasure or any adventure that suited his needs, he had. He allowed his unchecked life to become that of indulging in the life of piracy, soon becoming a trusted member of the pirate ship. Even his slavery debt was forgiven for his loyalty as he became a trusted negotiator with the different languages he spoke and a more-than-capable swordsmen during raiding parties. 2 years later and a 22 year-old Bastian found himself along the shores of Ireland. During a raid, Bastian was part of a group that raided his own uncle's house! During the raid, Bastian stopped another pirate from killing his uncle and aunt and as Bastian killed the other pirate to cover his tracks of defending his family, he saw the reflection of the monster he had become in the destroyed looks of his uncle & aunt. Beyond broken with the revelation of the monster he had become, Bastian fled to the pirate ship. Leaving the now burning town behind, Bastian was set on leaving his life of greed and death behind and return to the university. But before he could leave the pirate ship on his terms, his piracy career would soon come to an end as the pirates pushed their luck one ship too far and attacked a far more armored merchant ship of Spain. Their ship sinking, Bastian found himself among three survivors from the pirate ship who washed ashore near France and Italy with only the clothes on their backs. Soon, the ship-less pirates would find Copperfox Amadeus & Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary. Hoping for a quick job to relieve the two of their gold & equipment, the pirates found the pair to be far more dangerous then thought. Soon, the pirates were the ones looking to be spared from a mercenary's sword and a scholar's knife! Meeting The Valiant Few would change Bastian's life forever and the one-time pirate soon found a far more honorable way to redeem his soul from the fiery consequences of his past choices and ease his guilt-ridden heart. Soon, Bastian had a meaning to replace the anger and sense of loss from his lost love and hoped, one day, to reunite with his uncle and aunt to make amends. |
***Bastian's dealings with The Valiant Few can be found with the movies "Destiny," "Catalyst," 2017 Movie Teasers, and our 2018 "The Valiant Few And The Medallion of Secrets (Copperfox Edition)". Go to the Movies section under the Multimedia tab on this website's navigational bar.
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