Maré Lacerta

**Maré Lacerta**, also known as the **Captain of Vale's Fate**, and affectionately known as **Salty**, is an ex-pirate captain who held the position of Master of Ships on the Council of Advisory for a decade.

Whilst not of noble lineage, Maré's status permits him to possess a sigil. He adopted the same symbol as that displayed on his flagship's sails: a sea-green crocodile biting its own tail set against a dark lavender backdrop. This emblem serves as a tribute to his deceased sister, Vale, and is known as "Vale's Fate."

## Description

### Appearance

Maré is a crocodilian standing at eleven feet and two inches tall, weighing seven hundred fifteen kilograms. He has a lean build with broad shoulders, having a long torso much like any other crocodile. His scales are a mix of olive and crocodile green, whilst his underbelly is more of a sage green. He has a long face, being wider at the base and thinning into a point at the end, with amber coloured eyes and crooked ivory coloured teeth, his largest fangs being around 6 inches long, his shortest being 4 inches. Maré has large hands and long fingers with sharp claws protruding out of them. He has large, webbed feet which lack claws, unlike his hands. Adding onto his height, Maré had a flat tail that was roughly 7 feet long, and quite wide, though it had been lost at the Battle of the Raven Queen. Running from the back of his head, down his spine, and to where his tail was, his scales stick up like spikes.

Maré’s clothing seemingly never changes. He wears a large leather tricorn, dyed black with gold fabric lining it, waterproofed with beeswax. Alongside this, he wears a large scarf made of polar bear fur, a large leather cloak dyed red and waterproofed once again, and a pair of pauldrons made of black steel and gold. Maré is almost never seen with a shirt on, simply covering a small portion of his torso with a leather bandolier. He wears a pair of leather bracers on his arms, and a black skirt with a red inside layer, alongside baggy black pants and a big black belt with a golden buckle. Maré is occasionally seen wearing tall leather boots, however he sticks to his bare feet when aboard his ship, or just near water in general. Extremely rarely however, Maré can be seen in his formal admiral’s Uniform, usually only when he attends extremely important events and such.

Maré wears three rings on each hand, two silver on index and pinky fingers, and one gold on his middle fingers. Each ring has its own meaning, however. The gold rings symbolize his sister Vale, and his mother, Cilla. The silver rings represent his three surviving children, and the ones that never made it out of their eggs. Along with this, Maré has multiple piercings, one nose piercing, and three ear piercings on the right side of his head. The nose ring is large, and made of gold, whilst there are two small earrings and one large one, all made of brass. These piercings don’t really symbolize/represent anything, they’re just there because Maré likes them.

### Personality

When in front of the Council of Advisory, Maré rarely had a serious demeanor. He was frequently observed snacking on something and cracking jokes. Nevertheless, when he had the opportunity to engage with individuals such as Queen Ailish Ocethion, his true intellect and knowledge shone through. The fervor with which he approached his work underscored his passion for what he did. Beyond his professional persona, Mare also had a deep sense of care and devotion to his family.

## Relationships

### Varian Lacerta

Being the man that killed him, Maré doesn’t miss his father one bit. Varian was an abusive drunkard that had threatened the life of Maré and his siblings countless times, beating them to the brink of death regularly, kicking them out into the slums when the night was coldest, ignoring their basic needs like food and warmth, whilst he was out in the town drinking and whoring himself away, and the list goes on. When Maré was a young adult, he had still hoped that there was even an ounce of good left in his old man, waiting for the day he could return to his childhood home and be welcomed in open arms, but he greatly underestimated his father’s vileness, when he let his youngest sister Vale starve to death as a cruel punishment for Maré’s absence. Maré never regretted shooting Varian where he stood, the only regret he did have however, was not doing it in a far more painful way. With all his hatred towards his father, Maré still has to thank him for teaching him the way of the world, as he wouldn’t be where he is now without that knowledge.

### Cilla Tara

Maré resents his mother for the most part, as she was absent for most of his younger years, leaving him to the hands of Varian. But even then, he still goes to see and look after her once every month, to check up on her. Whilst her absence left a lasting scar on Maré, he could understand why she had left, he would have to if he hadn’t relied on Varian for his survival. Maré believes that in her older years, she has grown far more gentle and compassionate, and forever sorry for leaving her children.

### Yirrec Wavecaller

Maré has mixed feelings about his ex-wife. He misses Yirrec from time to time, but ultimately he doesn’t regret divorcing her. Yirrec Wavecaller was an aarakocra who was Maré’s first mate for a time on his old ship, The Scaled Harpy, and they came to fall for each other over time. Maré loves Yirrec still, but he wanted to have children, and an aarakocra and a crocodilian just weren’t compatible, and he also came to realize that his crew was uncomfortable with the romance, as most of them believed he would favor her when paying them, which he eventually did, ending up in most leaving. After having to sell his ship, Maré divorced the bird, leaving things on not so good terms.

### Seno Chirsk

Maré has fond memories of Seno, a human fighter he once partnered up with for a job, of which turned into a short-term relationship, lasting up until he left her in the hands of the navy, to get away with a sizable treasure he had stolen. He hasn’t seen her since.

### Ekatir Bloodthorn

When Maré thinks of the name "bloodthorn", a shiver gets sent down his spine as he remembers the orcish woman that had made his life a living nightmare for two whole months of his life. He fled in the dark of the night, fearing for his life. He hasn’t seen Ekatir since, but jumps at the thought of her, and at the sight of large orc women.

### Dalry Stelhai

Dalry Stelhai is a crocodilian, and mother of Maré’s children. After their surviving children grew up, they parted ways, and are now currently in an on and off relationship. Maré thinks of Dalry as a kind yet stubborn and adventurous woman, and he admires her for being a better mother than his own. They met when Maré first started to clean up his act, joining the navy. She was a member of the Civic Guard stationed within Kingsport, and they often met in a tavern close to port, where she would patrol. She helped and encouraged him on his path, and he is forever grateful.

### Shele Lacerta

Having been left broken at the loss of his two firstborns, Maré was an absent father to young Shele, spending his days on the ocean and his nights in taverns and inns; Her mother Dalry having to pick up the role of sole parent for a time. Maré tried to fix his relationship with his daughter, giving her the occasional lecture and life lesson, though it didn’t help one bit, the damage had already been done. He deeply regrets not being there for Shele, and he still tries to make up for it, sending Shele a letter every week, unsure if they even find her, as there are no replies.

### Faral and Kala Lacerta

His twins, his son and daughter. Faral and kala never made it past the age of 15, as they were killed during a raid on Maré’s home by slavers he had locked up as a naval officer. Maré loved them with all his heart, poured his heart and soul into the two, learning and struggling with them as he grew as a parent and as a person. He remembers all the good memories, and the bad, and cherishes them all. They were his firstborns, and he still sheds a tear for each of them when reminiscing about the two.

### Kingdom of Agriosa

Maré earned the reputation as the most dedicated and formidable individual to ever hold the title of Master of Ships on the Council of Advisory, told by people from the twenty-six seas. His crocodilian legacy became the subject of songs sung throughout Kingsport and the Fractured Isles, and even beyond the distant seas. When he retired, it was a genuine loss, yet his legacy continues to be honored by people to this day.