Soheil Go-Lightly

Soheil at his desk in the Pistol

Soheil Go-Lightly-Over-The-Burning-Bridge (Istaki: Bh-Arama-Rewa-Pel-Sewzan-Berw, born 7th October 31:29 / 579 DI) is a psychologist, pirate, and revolutionary. He was the Commodore of Meridiem from 616 DI - 620 DI, and now serves as Quartermaster on the pirate ship Piran's Pistol*.* He is the current Paragon of Pheon.

## Backstory

Soheil was born in Neyraz, a small farming village a few miles out from Elyari, to Ali Go-Lightly-Under-The-Setting-Sun and Golbahar Burns-Bridges-And-Loses-Opportunity. He has three elder brothers, Ebrahim, Benham, and Hamid. Their family were subsistence farmers, primarily growing barley, and very conservative Surat-Mitra. Ali was a very dominant figure in Soheil's immediate family and in Neyraz, involved in community support but often prone to temper outbursts and delusional behaviour. Soheil was not close with his mother and all four brothers were competitive with each other.

When Soheil was fourteen, he was told in no uncertain terms by Ali that he was no longer welcome in the home. He ran away to Elyari, and from there, hitchhiked his way across Istakir to Sorrokh. He worked a variety of odd jobs like fruit picking and delivering messages, but was limited by his illiteracy and by the 31:43 Qadiyyan-Istaki border war. He reached Sorrokh in 31:44, but the economy was in shambles, and the best work he could find was on merchant ships who were looking for cheap labour with no accountability.

He worked as a cabin boy and deckhand along the Golden Coast until he was hired onto a merchant ship trading along the Istakir-Devois-Banhust route in 31:46. Once in Banhust, he turned and signed up with the Royal Bann Navy. His cadet cohort included Dalliance Mkali, Ellerie Epsilon, Kate Hendrick, and Jessica Leigh. He progressed through the ranks slowly, as he was still in the process of learning Cantanan Trade, aided greatly by Dalliance. However, Soheil was ambitious and a hard worker, and sparked a rivalry with like-minded Leigh. He made Master's Mate in 31:51 / 601 DI, and Lieutenant in 604 DI.

604 DI was a big year for Soheil. His promotion to Lieutenant was in the Strategic Branch, which was beginning to expand its operations in Southern Liath and required more staffing. He moved to Meridiem, found a talent for management and organisation, and made a very good impression. However, during the summer he was attacked by a werewolf. He survived, but contracted lycanthropy; he also began experiencing hallucinations and disorganised thinking. Thankfully, Dalliance had been transferred alongside him, working for Intelligence. Dalliance's skill in subterfuge and deception allowed Soheil to hide his conditions, but the naval regulations prevented him from seeking further aid.

This brought Dalliance and Soheil closer, particularly as their other friendships drifted from distance, personal growth, and rivalries growing into dislike. The two men enjoyed banter and arguments, and their public relationship appeared strained to people unfamiliar with them. However, in private, they were far from it - in 611 DI, they began seeing each other in secret. Soheil was promoted to Captain a few months later, the first time he had outranked Dalliance on the promotion chain.

With the promotion of Commodore Leigh to Admiral in 616 DI, the command of Meridiem passed onto Soheil, who was promoted to replace her. His approach to the position was markedly conservative, and he enacted legislature preventing the local government and any religious bodies from involving themselves in Navy matters. He also slashed offensive spending in the campaigns on Northern Liath to instead fund increases in fleet repairs, maintenance of infrastructure, and negotiation of merchant shipping escorts. He masterminded operations to crack down on slave trading and trafficking in Liath, capturing the pirate ship Piran's Pistol and turning them into pseudo-privateers against traffickers in exchange for their freedom. His attention to accounts made his tenure as Commodore noted for its fiscal responsibility, and turned the Meridiem bureau from an expensive, under-performing organisation to one of the Royal Navy's most independent and profitable colonial establishments. During this time, Soheil and Dalliance were married by shared agreement, and bought a cottage together in the Noon district of Meridiem. While not formally involved with the Mitra community due to his own legislature, Soheil nonetheless had good personal relationships with many poorer Mitra residents, and ended up hiring a struggling young woman named Mozhdeh Moss-Grew-Grey-On-The-King's-Gate to be his butler and sponsoring Sadaf Al-Khayri after she was rescued from trafficker James Brutallion's ship in a Pistol raid.

This success was short lived, as in 620 DI, Soheil was arrested on charges of homosexuality and sodomy. He had incorrectly sealed a letter to Dalliance that led to it being flagged as suspicious and intercepted, revealing implications of a romantic relationship between the two of them. Admiral Leigh presented this letter to Dalliance with a bargain, and Dalliance named Soheil and confirmed the implications in order to keep his job and escape arrest himself. Soheil was placed under house arrest once his lycanthropy also became evident, and was tried in December and January of 620 DI - 621 DI. His trial sparked extensive media coverage and brought the Navy under heavy pressure to hunt out other closeted people.

The verdict was pronounced guilty, and Soheil was dishonourably discharged and had HS branded with silver onto his right wrist, to warn others of his criminal status. He was banned from Masjid Halif, the mosque in Little Istakir, and retreated to his house for the remainder of the winter. At Mozhdeh's stubborn insistence, he finally started taking odd jobs again in spring, reconnecting with Sadaf, Captain Draven de Paor of Piran's Pistol, and the ex-nun Thalia Lufilia. In May he fell into an ambiguous relationship with Draven, but ended it in August when it became clear that it was only making them both miserable. He then adopted Miss de Paw.

Soheil discovered he had an aptitude for raw magic, first appearing in commands that were impossible to disobey and in the uncontrollable summoning of fiery weapons. He linked this to his faith, and began practicing with Thalia to better understand his magic. This allowed him to heal Draven's wounds when they were resurrected, and helped him when he was in charge of their recovery. This time also sparked an interest in medicine, and he began a long distance medical degree with the University of Banhusford in 622 DI. He was also formally elected Quartermaster of Piran's Pistol, and held a lot of influence over their direction. He argued against taking jobs involving raiding merchant ships and drug smuggling, and instead pushed for more focus on targeted attacks on the Navy.

With this clarity of purpose, he also began liaising in activist circles, beginning as simply an observer. He was particularly active in Rejan community support as organised by the Istaki Ambassador Tesfaye, and in providing protection to anti-Navy activists, taking advantage both of his personality and his physical prowess. He became acquainted with the militant Pheonides through his duties with the Pistol, and they immediately took a dislike to him that was thoroughly reciprocated. Alacrity recognised some of his magic as indicative of Pheon's blessing, but did not tell him, and he remains under the impression that it is all from the Lady.

A surprise windfall of wealth in the middle of 623 DI meant that Soheil was suddenly one of the richest people in Meridiem, and thus in Liath as a whole. This was a shock to his system and caused him to re-evaluate his entire strategy, and after restocking his savings from their dip after his dishonourable discharge, he started consulting with realtors, tutors, activists, and farmers. While his instinct was to throw the money at physical attacks on the Navy, such as funding more ambitious raiding expeditions, he was persuaded to instead address the systemic issues that he himself had pointed out in his assessment of Navy recruitment: poverty and education. These two spheres required two different projects, so he began working on a night school targeted at adolescents and adults, and an aid center that could provide food and basic necessities regularly.

Through this time he had been attempting to dip his toe into the casual dating realm, and discovered a singular talent for being utterly inept at it. It finally paid off when he met Helios Mirador and they began going steady just after he came into money. Soheil was enchanted by Helios' interest and intelligence, but oblivious to his ambitions regarding Meziavela, and so handwaved any questions raised about his behaviour.

## Personality

Soheil is a deeply, deeply angry man, with low tolerance for injustices or haram behaviour. His stubbornness makes him defensive and resistant to criticism, and he is notoriously terrible at apologies. While perfectly friendly, he is not particularly nice, and has a clipped, formal manner of speaking. He represses a great deal, but lashes out when his control snaps, and so is constantly aware of his violent streak and tries to minimise suffering around him. His upbringing and experiences in the Navy left him with a number of harmful beliefs, particularly his homophobia, thoughtless misogyny, and total ignorance of a variety of social and environmental topics. He struggles with depression, paranoid schizophrenia, and chronic pain.

However, through the reservation, he is a very conscientious and empathetic, and his passionate belief in his principles makes him incredibly persuasive. He cares strongly about people - both as individuals and in the general - and he is well known for his consistent charity and his understanding of the psyche. His sense of humour is sharp and dry, tending towards sarcasm and bad puns.

## Relationships

### Dalliance Mkali

Dalliance is Soheil's oldest friend and the love of his life, but the relationship is complicated and painful due to Dalliance's betrayal. They share a deep understanding of each other, and can mimic each other's voices. Dalliance taught Soheil how to read, write, and speak Cantanan Trade by showing him romance novels like 'Pride and Prejudice,' and Soheil in turn taught Dalliance Western Istaki. They speak Istaki when alone together or trying to have a private conversation.

### Ellerie Epsilon

Ellerie was Soheil's friend for many years as they were stationed in the same branch and had complementary temperaments. While he never shared with her the love affair he was having with Dalliance, Soheil trusted her greatly and relied on her for advice and counsel. She was killed in a pirate raid in 620 DI, and her death caused him to prioritise taking down piracy around Meridiem.

### Sadaf Al-Khayri

Soheil and Sadaf are friends first, and adopted father and daughter second. Soheil is parental to a condescending degree with Sadaf, and they tend to argue and clash over his overprotectiveness. However, they are also fiercely loyal to each other, and share experiences like being a mix of cultures, feeling trapped in Surat-Mitra expectations, and feeling isolated for their orientation.

### Draven de Paor

Draven and Soheil have a complicated relationship, from rivals to vague hand gestures to doctor and patient to friends. Soheil appreciates Draven's skill with their crew and their advocacy for monsters' rights, although he outwardly disagrees. However, he is often frustrated by their short-sightedness and their inability to responsibly regulate their emotional responses.

## Appearance

Short and stocky, Soheil is 5' 5.5" (the half an inch is important) and has a comfortable layer of fat from his sedentary desk job and fondness for Mozhdeh's cooking. He is strong from a history of boxing, particularly in his shoulders, and is covered in scars from full moons with a distinctive one across his long nose. He has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin with golden undertones. He dresses modestly in clean, military-style clothes, or later in his life, tailored skirts and blouses. He wears a turban in public and maintains a pair of excellent moustaches.

## Abilities

### Dungeons & Dragons, 5E

In 5E, Soheil is an Order cleric, and his signature spells are Command, Spiritual Weapon (in the shape of a rapier or longbow), Shield of Faith, and Prayer of Healing. He has proficiency in Athletics, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion, and Survival.

### Jazz in the Night

* Burning Bright: You have a cause that drives you on past danger and caution: Naval overthrow. You get +1d when acting in direct service to your ideology if you also take -1d to any resistance rolls against the consequences.
* Cauterize: You can use Dissect to triage and medically assist your team members. Everyone in your crew gets +1d to their healing treatment rolls.
* Focused: You may expend your special armor to resist a consequence of surprise or mental harm (fear, confusion, losing track of someone).
* Incendiary: You can push yourself to do one of the following: provoke someone to badly overstep the bounds of propriety - rile up a crowd of people to anger or even violence.
* Inflammatory: You can summon and control fire using Sway. Take 1 stress for each minute you spend wielding it.
* Personality: When you lead a group action using Contest, you can suffer only 1 stress at most regardless of the number of failed rolls.
* Telekinesis: You can move objects with your mind. Take 1 stress for each extra feature: collide with someone to cause harm - hide something without notice - move objects over 40kg.
* Telepathy: You can identify people's surface thoughts with Empathise and always know when someone is lying to you.

## Cultural Touchstones

Soheil is Persian and very conservatively Muslim, although he is inconsistent in his obedience to Islamic guidance. His fashion is based on upper-class British clothing from the late 1850s and Baluchi clothing. He is inspired by Aria Joie, Captain Hitchcock, the book 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen, and the song 'Promiseland' by MIKA. His moustache is inspired by David Suchet's in Agatha Christie's Poirot.

## Gallery

Sadaf and Soheil ReadingSoheil and DravenSoheil OutfitsSoheil Go-LightlySadaf and Soheil DancingThalia, Sadaf, Draven, and SoheilSoheil SeatedFloorplan of Soheil's Cottage
## References

1. ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-symptoms-and-warning-signs.htm
2. ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-disorders/schizophrenia-signs-and-symptoms.htm
3. ↑ https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-pain
4. ↑ https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1850-1859/
5. ↑ https://iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xviii
6. ↑ https://counterweight.fandom.com/wiki/Aria\_Joie
7. ↑ https://thenewarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Ethan\_Hitchcock
8. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride\_and\_Prejudice
9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnVZgPr3pyw
10. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha\_Christie%27s\_Poirot