Fort

Fort is a cook and trader on the Crow's Song, and later the Two Cups, on Lumar. He is deaf, and communicates using a piece of Nalthian technology he obtained by trading with an unknown worldhopper.
== Appearance and Personality ==
Fort is a very large man, not in the sense of being overweight, but simply being built "on a different scale than the rest of humanity", enough so he could easily hold a ceramic cannonball in one hand. He can be assumed to have black, curly hair like Salay, due to both coming from the same island.
His fingers on both hands are gnarled, but it isn't known if it is from a congenital disease or tragic accident. Despite this significantly affecting his dexterity, with his fingers not being as mobile and his hands trembling as he attempts to pick up or move objects, he manages to get by and is rather capable, even if he has to do things differently than other people. However, he is unable to write, with the creation of finer shapes being difficult for him, which is one of the reasons his board was so beneficial in communication.
While he is a pirate, he is firmly opposed to killing others, and doesn't want the deaths of others on his shoulders.
He appears to easily buy into legends, believing in the legends of bone spores, despite never seeing them himself.
He loves to negotiate and tells Tress that haggling is how he hunts to honor his upbringing.
== History ==
=== Early Life ===
He was born on the Islands of Lobu in the Sapphire Sea, into a family who took the cultural idea of the Hunt very seriously, and when he came of age, he decided to choose trading as his hunt. Thus, he began looking for trades with those he comes across, and records them to send back to his family to be hung in their family hall.
In his youth, he primarily communicated through sign language and reading lips. This was until some point where he met an unknown worldhopper, and traded for a piece of Nalthian technology that could let him read what others were saying, and write out what he wants to say. This helped him immensely in his ability to communicate and properly interpret what others were saying.
=== Sailing the Spore Seas ===
Over his time traveling the seas of Lumar, he managed to cross ten, all but the Crimson and Midnight Sea, due to them being too dangerous to risk crossing. At some point in the past, Fort was referred to by the title sir, but he rejected it by the time he met Tress on the Crow's Song. At some point, he became a member of the Crow's Song. After Weev died, he became the cook, despite his poor cooking ability, as he was simply the best cook on board. 
When Hoid became a member of the Crow's Song, after he was bought off the Whistlebow due to his curse from the Sorceress, he grew fond of him and began giving him food before everyone else, despite Crow not ordering him to.
He was on the ship during the sinking of the Oot's Dream, and was confused by it along with the rest of the crew, knowing that they should have been harmless, meant to merely hold the ship in place. He examined every cannonball he knew of in the cannon and armory, and found none with defective fuses. This left him very confused and worried about what had happened, and how Crow had acted about it. 
=== Tress's Voyage ===
When Tress came aboard the Crow's Song, he immediately began to show her kindness, giving her food despite Crow informing him not to. He always made sure to give her and Hoid food before the rest of the crew. He at first did not consider this done out of kindness, but considered it a trade for a future favour. Over time, he grew close with Tress and developed a bond of mutual trust. They would eventually team up, alongside Ann and Salay, for a mutiny against Crow due to disagreements over her desire to turn the crew into Deadrunners. Learning of their planned mutiny via the Midnight Essence, Crow called them to deck and attacked them, intentionally breaking his board in the process. Not long later, Tress traded Crow for three gifts from Xisisrefliel, one of the gifts was a replacement board for Fort, a gift for which he was deeply grateful.
=== Tress as Captain ===
When Tress left on her own into the Midnight Sea and was kidnapped by Midnight Essence servants of the Sorceress, he was the one who proposed that they follow her into the sea and barter with the Midnight Essence to be led to the Sorceress' Tower. He successfully managed to barter with them over large barrels of water, and they agreed to lead him and the rest of the Crow's Song to the tower. Seeing him outside, Tress and Charlie used a board in the Sorceress' Tower to engage in a video conference with Fort. Where she ordered Ann, Selay, and Fort to come into the tower, bringing Hoid along in order to break his curse. A task they accepted without opposition, fighting through the spores and metal soldiers to make their way into the tower.
He helped Tress after she fell down from her aonic chains, and when the Sorceress refused to leave, he and Salay pulled their pistols on herm threatening to fire. This, along with the threat of Hoid's new AonDor powers, led her to flee. With the Sorceress gone, they all returned to the Crow's Song, and he rolled out some alcohol he had been saving for such an occasion.
Months later, they had sold the Crow's Song and got a new ship known as the Two Cups, looking for a new start. He helped the crew by teaching them some sign language, which helped with communication without having to yell over the sound of wind, spores, or other crewmates.
== Trivia ==
* Following his assistance in getting the crew of the Crow's Song through the Crimson and Midnight Sea, Fort has managed to travel all twelve of Lumar's oceans.
== Notes ==
es:Fortín