Eggouus

## ***BACKSTORY***

Eggouus will not share his original name, because as he says, “It does not matter who or what I was. All that matters is what I am since I Hatched.” The story of this metaphorical hatching takes place in Dover, in his house which was located a very short distance from the famous white cliffs. He lived here with his parents for many years, until they were both taken in a sailing accident when he was 17 years old. Inheriting the house and all of their money, he had a hard time picking up the pieces, having lost his faith alongside his family. Floating through his life numbly, he first encountered the egg that would prove to be his salvation one day when he was making himself breakfast. He hadn’t actually had eggs in his icebox for some time, but there it sat that morning, he having no idea how it got there, or why there was just the one. He left it for a time, not quite trusting its origins, but one day when his food was running low, he relented and decided to take his chances with it. He started a fire, only half paying attention to what he was doing, and did not notice as he was prepping the rest of his meal that the fire had caught on some loose papers until it was too late.

He was holding the lone egg, about to crack it into a bowl, when he first finally noticed the smoke, and then the flames. Searching frantically for a way out, he dropped the egg, and it miraculously rolled away along the floor without breaking. He barely noticed; clawing through the haze for an exit, he was beginning to be overcome by smoke inhalation when the wall before him gave way, threatening to crush him beneath it. He fell to his knees, and welcomed the end.

But he was never crushed. At last opening his eyes (while the smoke cleared out through the gaping hole in the side of his house), he saw the egg he had dropped, whole and hale - propping up the debris upon its curve like a keystone. Mystified by his luck, he nonetheless wasted no time exiting through the hole, just as the rest of the house collapsed in on itself.

In the aftermath of the disaster, he grappled with his survival of the incident, and his deliverance from sure disaster at the hands of so unlikely a savior. Wandering for a long time, aimless and pensive, he had an epiphany one day: the Egg had been a holy relic, sent by a new god to shelter and protect him. It was at this time that he baptized himself in egg fluids, and his rebirth was complete: he was now Eggouus, Prophet of the Great Egg.

Dedicating his entire life to his new faith, he went about as a vagabond evangelist, preaching the teachings that he had come to understand to any who would listen, and more than a few who would not. He was still propped up by his family’s money for a time, but his fortune dwindled quickly in the face of his new direction, so he found himself forced to turn to unsavory practices to support himself. Joining pirate crew after pirate crew, he often lasted just long enough to collect a payday before being run off for his constant preaching, sometimes at the tips of angry swords. But it was aboard one of these ships that he first heard the legend of the Isla de Oro, and in the dream of a free pirate republic, he saw a place where he could practice and preach his new faith unrestricted. He held his tongue for the first time since his conversion, and implored his captain to search for the Isle. After some devious coercion, the lad got his way, and they went in search of the last free port.

He had no luck for many weeks, and at last his captain threw in the towel on the search and made to come about and return home. At this, Eggouus snapped, and attacked the captain and crew, slaying him and most of his mates in his raging fury while the rest fled overboard before his wrath. But he had taken many wounds himself, and as the adrenaline subsided from the melee, he weakened. And was met with a most curious sight when he looked down at his wounds. He was bleeding, but not in red. Clear fluids, and thick yellow in the more vicious wounds, leaked from his torn flesh. His faith confirmed at last, he knew how to save himself. Stumbling down into the larder, he found the stash of eggs, and began crushing them against his body. The viscous fluids bound his wounds and restored his lost lifeblood, now made entirely of egg white and yolk. He was just returning to his senses after healing when he heard loud, furious voices from abovedecks.

He found the deck of the ship swarming with pirates, marvelling at the carnage all around them, and when Eggouus emerged, slathered in egg fluids, they all shrank back, save one. The largest and wildest man he had ever seen stood fast before him, betraying just a hint of trepidation in his furrowed brow as he studied the strange creature before him. Introducing himself as Captain St. Nicholas, he began to parley, but once again Eggouus saw providence in his situation, and immediately handed over the ship in exchange for joining the crew. Flabbergasted, the pirate captain nonetheless agreed, and they sailed back to Isla de Oro aboard the Rudolph’s Vengeance, where the lad immediately set up multiple shrines to his deity and began to preach his faith.

Despite his unusual beliefs, none could deny his fire and skill in handling a ship and raiding. He worked his way up the ranks until the Vengeance and her captain underwent their bizarre joining (see the Hall of Legends). Transferring to the Jazzbox, he then was chosen to succeed Bardkat Rev when that worthy mate ascended to the Council. Eggouus continues to be an active and vibrant commander in the Fleet, and he deflects all praise and accolades to the blessing of the Great Egg.

## ***APPEARANCE AND GEAR***

* Whether he started out that way, deliberately altered himself, or developed as a matter of faith is unknown, but he very much resembles an egg in appearance. Squat and rotund, with mustard-yellow hair and skin that refuses to accept a tan despite his vocation, he is in all ways the very embodiment of his god. His only garment, a long brown coat reminiscent of a robe, is lined with a multitude of pockets to hold his various weapons.

* He wields perhaps the most unique arsenal in the Isle’s history: a myriad of eggs filled with various substances are slung all about his person, and he lobs them with preternatural skill. From simple explosives and inflammatories like gunpowder and napalm, to more sophisticated solutions that are capable of melting all manner of bones, even cursed ones, he is a living grenade launcher, and the destruction he wreaks is unmatched.

* He also employs specialized weapons to launch these unique projectiles, such as a sniper rifle that fires hardened boiled eggs, and a blunderbuss that splinters eggshells when fired, rendering his target to ribbons as if he had blasted broken glass at them.

## ***PERSONALITY AND ABILITIES***

* As he learned just before being picked up by the Vengeance, Eggouus’ bodily fluids have all been seemingly replaced by egg white and yolk, so he can use these fluids to accelerate his healing by smearing it on any wounds he takes. In addition to his weapons-grade eggs, he also carries a healthy stash of standard eggs to use as functional ‘healing potions’. This makes him nearly as difficult to put down in a fight as a member of the Nightwatch, and his wild, feverish intensity in the name of his god perhaps puts him beyond them.
* Additionally, he can call upon some new and esoteric version of life magic to animate whatever might be inside his eggs, and can combine them in order to summon greater and more dangerous beasts to fight for him, for a time. The larger the beast, the more of his energy it requires, and is thus more short-lived, so this is a power he tends to use only in the direst of needs.
* Eggouus is a fun loving, slightly mad sort of person, as a result of his singular faith. But his results and transformations cannot be dismissed; he reaps true benefits from his faith in addition to the physical advantages. Absolute trust in his deity grants him a certain serene assuredness, that never fails to be contagious to his crew. He believes with unwavering certainty that everything happens for a reason, and pursues his goals with the absolute knowledge that he will achieve them. The inspiration he exudes makes those around him similarly contented in his presence.