Wassel

Wassel Elernel-Levia, is a Friholmian pirate who operates around the coasts of Sparwood. Right now he is mostly known as the Doge of Friholm. The family name of Elernel-Levia was created when Wassel got married with Shaereleria, back then, Elernel-Dariae. The Elernel name comes from marriage into the Elernel Dynasty and the Levia partially comes from Leviathan that has been shortend and partially from the meaning of Levia; “joined in harmony".

Early life
Little is known about the early life of Wassel. He was found as a child all alone in a strange, fully enclosed, metal container that looked like a barrel. It seemed out of this world, but smoke was coming out of it. The barrel was found on the shores, not far from a small town, by a sailor named Matthias. The smoke and the child's cries attracted the man when he was unloading goods from his ship. He was a sailor and merchant in the mid 40's, going from port to port, trading goods. Matthias had no wife, never had one. He had only his ship and a couple of crewmembers, who were his friends. He was not that big, he had short black curly hair and a fully grown beard.

The child took direct interest into the necklace that Matthias had. It was a sharktooth with a leather cord to hold it. The child stopped crying and started playing with it. Matthias' heart melted and from that moment he looked to the child as a son of his own. It had a weird metal necklace with weird signs written on it, Matthias couldn't make much sense of it. He looked at a small part of the signs that somewhat looked like letters he knew 'W45S3L'. Matthias said: "From this day forth, your name is Wassel and you are my son."

Living on a ship and raising a child wasn't going to be an easy combination, but that didn't stop him from trying. The first years were hard, a baby on board basically meant one person less to do the normal work. Eventually Wassel learned to walk, talk and swim on a young age. And from the moment he was strong enough to help pulling the sails, Matthias taught him everything that he knew. He learned stuff from basic sailing techniques like knotmaking, to merchant skills in port towns...

Tragic loss
Life was good, years went by on the Floating Betty (Matthias' merchant ship at the time). They sailed though the ocean, buying and selling goods. Matthias created a good reputation and earned alot of money with Wassel at his side. But on a bright day, somewhere in the middle of, what is now called, the Sea of Etscharien, Matthias fell ill. He had a high fever that didn't want to do down with a couple days of rest. The medician onboard tried everything with what medicine was available. They were too far from land and the wind was not on their side. Matthias felt his end was close, he asked Wassel to be at his side and told him the story of the sharktooth necklace and then died peacefully in Wassels arms. Wassel was around 16 at the time and the loss of his father was very hard on him. Matthias most likely died because of old age and the tough conditions on the sea. Wassel took Matthias' necklace and gave him a proper burial at sea.

With the necklace around his neck and Matthias close to his heart, he was proud to continue Mathias' work. Chosen by his crewmembers Wassel became the captain of the Floating Betty. His leadership skills were close to not existing at that time, but that changed quickly...

Sakura tree
Wassel became known in the world. For years he passed through great port cities and met alot of people around the world. Crewmembers came and went. They got enough money to buy their own ships or found the love of their life. Some became injured or sick and stayed on land to recover. But new faces joined as well, faces of all colors and forms. Some joined to learn, some joined because of an old favour and some just joined for the money.

It was on a day in Summer, when he was sailing somewhere North-East of Sparwood's main land, that luck was not on his side. By that time Wassel must have been around the same age that Matthias was when he found him as a baby. Wassel was almost at his destination after a long time on sea. A sudden jolt of noise made the ship halt. The Floating Betty crashed into sharp rocks close to the shores. Water filled his beloved vessal fast, there was nothing to stop it. With small sloops Wassel and his crew peddled away from the Floating Betty. Some goods were lost, but no one was harmed and most riches were with them. The Floating Betty sailed her waters, the Floating Betty was no more.

Back on land Wassel looked for a new ship. There were some vessels for sale at the docks, but they were not in the best condition so Wassel didn't want to spend his money on them. After some wandering around the town he noticed a sign that led into the woods closeby. Following the road Wassel found a shed with a small wooden house next to it, right next to the water. There was a man working on a ship, it was smaller than the Floating Betty but it looked well made. After talking to the shipmaker and discussing over a fair price, Wassel had a couple weeks vacation before the ship was finished.

On his time off Wassel traveled on foot with his back turned to the sea. He was not used long days on land so he rested alot and enjoyed the greenery and wildlife. After some days of walking, pink petals filled the air. A settlement, it was a weird place for Eastern style structures, but it was beatiful. He got offered something to drink that he couldn't remember the name of and the days went by like nothing. After a couple of days, when he finally decided to leave, he was given a seedling of one of the pink trees. He'd never forget the bright red structures, the exotic plants and the fine ladies in their pretty dresses.

On his way back, Wassel made a small detour. Big plains with a look on the sea, nothing could disturb the peace. He decided to plant his seedling there. He might not have lived on land ever, but he knew the basics of plants. Put it in the ground and give it water...