Melias Silverhook

Melias Silverhook - digital canvas by Kelly Hatala (c) 2018

Identity

Name

Melias Silverhook

Culture

Ru-Pani

Profession

Fisherman

Description

Ethnicity

Ru-Pani

Gender

Male

Age

43 sols, (379 YG --)

Height

1.8 m

Build

lean, muscular

Appearance

A weathered fisherman with sun-tanned features. He had dark brown hair with touches of grey, and a short beard. He had a smiling face for most his life, but now his eyes betray a haunted hollow soul.

Personality

Melias used to be happy, friendly and full of life, but now he is a broken man, who refuses to see the truth of his actions.

About

Home

Nomadic, sails the coastal waters of the Torcastan Sea

History

Melias Silverhook was a exceptional fisherman of his people. His surname was originally a joke about his ability to always catch something, to the extent that he once pulled a single silver coin from the sea, it was wedged on his hook. Some try to claim he had put the coin there before casting his line, but enough witnesses exist to counter such skeptics. An ever cheerful, and friendly man, Melias was happy to share tips and tricks, or some of his catch amongst the vu s'vin he called home.

Constantly at his side one could always find Rosa, his only child. She was the only family he had left, after losing his wife in childbirth, and an unborn son, two years prior. Rosa was his pride and joy, nothing was more dear in his eyes, and he would do anything to keep her safe. He loved her beyond measure.

The Deed

Melias killed Rosa. There's no denying it, everybody saw him do it. He grabbed her, and held her over the side of his boat until she drowned. It happened so quickly no one could stop him, they simply watched in horror as he gripped the struggling girl and forced her face down into the sea. After he pulled her limp form up from the water, he gently positioned her in a seated pose and held her hands weeping silently. Blood from the gouges and scratches she left in his forearms dripping to mingle with the water dripping from her sodden hair and clothing. When someone finally got close enough to hear words, all he said was "Now she is safe."

Present

Melias sails in a vu s'vin of one, just his small boat home. The bundled bones of his murdered child still occupy the bow of his vessel, although he has since re-wrapped them in cleaner silk after her flesh rotted away. He still refuses to accept that she is gone, and if questioned on the matter will respond:

What do you mean? She's right there. He points to the other end of his boat, indicating a tightly wrapped bundle of silken cloth, about the size and shape of an 6 year old child. I ensured her safety, nothing can harm her now. She'll never suffer. No pain, nor hunger, nor loneliness. I have freed her of these things. A ru-pani lives and die on the sea. It is home forever. We return our dead to the sea, so they might provide back, and provide again. She still lives.

As you can see the rest of the vu siv'n departed without me. I sail in a flotilla of one now. Just Rosa and I, till the end of our days. I don't blame them. It's not for them to understand. As she was my child there was no crime by law, but some think I committed a worse act than our law can even punish. It isn't a crime to kill oneself. Until they are adult children are part of their parents. There's context to consider when dealing with crime. The ru-pani are pretty open and forgiving about a lot of things. Those of us who weren't born at sea, have pasts we don't always speak of, but embracing the ru-pani way washes all of that away.

Connections

Familial

Wife - unamed (deceased)

Daughter - Rosa Silverhook (deceased)

Personal

Professional

Stories

Horror (fifty word fantasy)

Revenge (fifty word fantasy)