Shainan

Shainan
Handle: Alarwyn
Character Name: Shainan
Email address: tiina-maaria.laihi@saunalahti.fi
Division: Freelanders
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Phys. description: With dark skin, dark hair, big green eyes, long lashes, and a little pouting mouth, Shainan (while not a great beauty) is a pretty woman nonetheless. She’s only 5′3″, but she has an alluring walk which may turn some heads especially when she’s not abroad a ship. Looking very young, she’s often mistaken for a child so she has had to learn to defend herself with words and even fists if that’s needed. With high aspirations and ambition to match, she’s always been ready to command and expects to be obeyed even when it doesn’t suit the position she has.
Character History: Born on her mother’s ship near Tear, Shainan has from the very beginning spent her whole life on sea, having spent only some days on dry land altogether in her life. She worked on her family skimmer as soon as she was able, and although her mother ran a tough crew, Shainan had already learned all the necessary skills she needed in order to work abroad a ship in the early stages of her life.
Shainan had been a bit of the rougher side when she was growing up, but no-one could deny she was skilled abroad a ship. Because of her skill and ambition she rose quickly in ranks and when her Clanmistress offered her a chance to build her own darter and becoming a Sailmistress, it seemed as if all her dreams had come true in that one step. The darter Seagull was built when Shainan was only 22, and she was quite successful in her bargaing in the beginning. Unfortunately, she was used to getting whatever she wanted and she thought her ship to be almost like her birthright. So in all her pride she got too much too soon, and the Wheel made her learn some humility.
Shainan has always had bad luck with men. If they were not drunkards, they were just plain stupid, but still she fell for them easily enough. Rhedin had been her worst mistake so far, indeed the bitterest of them all. In the beginning he had been so charming and intelligent and all good things possible, so perfect really, that the fall had been twice as fast as usual, and usually she was quite fast to single out the losers to fall in love with. Of course, in most cases it didn’t help that more often than not they shared the boatwith them. Anyway, Rhedin had been like an answer to her prayers, a perfect match (or so it seemed back then) with his wit and elegance. Yes, he’d made a perfect Cargomaster in her imagination, until (after a few weeks’ sailing from Altara to Bandar Eban) Shainan found out that not only a dashing figure, her latest attraction was also a very convincing charmer of the other women. Well, she didn’t let that bother her too much, she knew her worth, after all. Without her, he would be nothing. Little she knew back then, that later on, because of him, she would be nothing…
Anyway, having arrived in Bandar Eban, they started discussing about the possible bargains, and for some reason she couldn’t even explain to herself later, Shainan decided to give Rhedin free hands considering all the possible goods they would be needing. And THAT was the mistake she would regret the rest of her life. Instead of buying all kinds of necessary things, he had bought lots of furs. Furs! In the middle of summer! Besides, trading furs, would mean a trip to the Borderlands or maybe to Aile Dashar, and if there was one thing Shainan didn’t like, it was some one messing up her plans, which, in this case, had been sailing to Ebou Dar where she could have met her mother. And strange things happened near the Blight, that was a well-known fact. But there was nothing to be done, a Cargomaster was in charge of the cargo and she was in charge of the ship, and if she wanted to keep her ship she had best make as much profit as she could from every single journey she did. Even if she didn’t like it.
In the beginning all went well. But then came a storm like they had never seen in their lives, straight from the north. It was icy and cold, and everybody had to struggle for their lives while keeping the ship on his course, especially as they were without a findfinder right then. Shainan knew her crew wasn’t as experienced as she could have wished for, but they were good hands, and that’s what should have counted in the end. Well, at least she could say that no-one saw it coming. The rocks came faster than a thought and the ship was flying with the wind by then. Normally, she would have been proud of her ship’s speed but in these conditions it was impossible to be nothing but frightened. And then came the huge crush and Shainan could hear people screaming and the ship squeaking but she was unable to do anything as she was washed away from her own decks by a huge wave… And she could feel the ship sinking.
Shainan woke up with a terrible headache and mouth full of sand. The kind of a headache which you can get after several days of hard drinking, and she really felt as if she had been drinking a lot. Suddenly she had gag out everything inside her, but only sea water came out. Then she realized where she was, washed up on a beach. Coughing, she started to remember what had happened the day before… My ship, she thought, my ship is lying on the bottom of the ocean and I’m here lying in sand. But where’s my crew? She tried looking around, but couldn’t see anybody. Only then she spotted a little cottage near the beach, and she decided to get some help as soon as possible. Shainan wanted to get out of the sand as soon as possible, and onto a proper ship again, if any ship would take her anymore.
At the cottage she found out that she was actually in Aisle Daishar. Somehow, in the storm, they had changed the direction and been carried by a current to near the Sea Folk islands… Which in itself was a good thing, Shainan thought, as she would be able to find a ship soon enough, but first she wanted to know what had happened to Seagull. After some considerable persuasion, the Amayar gave her a permission to borrow one of their tiny boats, and even gave her some food and water she could take with her. She searched the whole day until just as the sun was going down she saw the all too recognizable rocks and what was left of her ship, and that wasn’t much. She could see nobody, only some random things floating around. She sighed and turned back to go to where she had come.
Back in the Ayamar village, she saw that there was indeed a ship in their little harbor, an Atha’an Miere ship. And, maybe fortunately for her, it happened to be one of her own clan, so they had no options but to take her abroad and make sure she’d see Clanmistress as soon as possible. The Clanmistress didn’t take Shainan’s story very well. Not only she had lost all her cargo and her boat besides! she had also lost all of its crew and passengers. No, she decided that she had made mistake with Shainan because of her promising beginning, but now she could correct her error. Oh yes, Shainan needed more experience, and much more sense before she wanted to see her before her again. If ever.
So, Shainan had no choice but to start from the very beginning, and all she could hope for was a place a as a deckhand on something more than a little boat. Maybe she would even have to stay on shore, away from the sea… But of two things she was sure. She would never, ever let herself be fooled by another man again, and she would have a ship again. Somehow, someday, she would.
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