Hayes Hartford

Details

I Prefer Dashing Rapscallion. Scoundrel?
Dashing, handsome and attractive are all ways to describe Hayes. To be frank, he is a very good-looking man. He has a muscular build and is quite tall. He has dark brown hair, the kind that women love to run their hands through. His face is rather pretty and he has a strong jaw which often sports a stubble. His most stunning features are his bright blue eyes.

Impressions & Attitude

Hayes Hartford is a man who is as charming as he is handsome. He often walks around with a very suave attitude, as if he doesn’t quite care about what goes on around him. Yet those who pay attention will notice keen eyes observing everything around him. He is a man that is as carefree as he is wild, someone who enjoys life to the fullest. He can sing very well and often entertains whatever pub he finds himself at with his musical pirate crew.

Clothing

Hayes’ wardrobe is an important part of what makes him who he is: a fearsome, vengeful yet jaunty pirate captain. He wears a lot of dark colours, combined with shades of red and grey. His most impressive piece of clothing is his black leather coat, which is heavier than it looks– thank his strong shoulders for supporting it. He is always decked out in his treasures, so to speak: be it his necklace, his many rings or his earrings. Another staple piece is his dark eyeliner.

Hayes Hartford is a man of quick wit and boldness, not hesitating to dispute the prevailing opinion. He is recognized for his rebellious nature and respected for his vision, confidence and keen sense of humour. When Hayes cares about something, he cares with his entire being and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. This usually includes morally questionable actions. But, he is incredibly loyal and will never break a promise.

He is an opportunist who can revise his plans on the fly, who gets a thrill out of a chance for action, and is quick to take action. Hayes is aware of his environment and its potential to be useful. He enjoys taking advantage of situations and finds satisfaction in discovering the merit of underdogs and outliers. He easily adapts to the company he is in, and his values are ever shifting. While he may be seen as particularly argumentative, he simply enjoys a good controversy and sees it as a great way to pass time.

His own emotions are subdued, but he does show them on matters of importance. He is capable of losing his temper on occasion, but also feels a strong pull to defend and protect the people he loves. Though Hayes hates to admit it, he has more compassion than he lets on and sometimes even goes out of his way to help others. Hayes may find that his opposing nature has caused him to lose relationships, often unintentionally. The good news is that Hayes will never completely lose his unique nonconformist attitude.

Grandparents

Parents & Siblings

Bijna iedereen is dood.

Through his mother’s lineage, Hayes was blessed with the genes of the druids. Like all druids he is a magical creature himself and is blessed with magic. His specialty lies with extracting and potion brewing. Hayes can extract both healing and poisoning properties from the plants surrounding him. These properties are then turned into potions that can be used for all sorts of things. He often coats his weapons in some sort of potion and knows how to brew healing potions for after a fight. Hayes has learned to walk the fine line between using his potions for good and bad, preferring to use both instead of just one.

Ever since he was young, he has been taught by masters like his mother. This makes him very proficient. Because his specialty lies with extracting and potion brewing, he is not adept at using other practices of magic. For example, he can shapeshift only in small creatures, yet not longer than mere minutes.

Childhood years

Hugh ‘Hayes’ Blakemore was born into the Blakemore family: an upper middle class family that made their fortune through merchantry. They owned a company of several ships that had been passed down through the ages. The family was located in Moonbright. He had several siblings: one older brother and two younger siblings.

Hugh had little to worry about while growing up, except what prank to pull on his tutors the following day. He got along swimmingly with his siblings, especially his older brother David. When Hugh was just five, he started tutoring in his druidic magic. This magic was brought down through his mother’s side of the family –Theodora was a druid too– and was considered an utter blessing.

Teenage years

He started working for his father when he was just fourteen years old. As Harwin stated: sailing was in his blood. When Hugh was sixteen both his parents were lost at sea. They never returned from a faraway journey, yet the ship wreckage was found on the shores of the Lemurian Isles. It left David, Hugh and the younger siblings in the care of their grandparents. Both David and Hugh worked for the Blakemore company after this. David was left in charge, Hugh was his second in command. Times were blooming, even the royal family sent them on missions.

Adulthood

Tragedy struck once more when Hugh was twenty. On a mission to retrieve a healing plant for a rather important customer, his brother fell deadly ill. It later turned out to be because of the very plant they were retrieving. Despite Hugh’s medicinal knowledge, the poison had already spread. David died in the arms of his brother and there was nothing they could do to prevent it.

His new hobby was being on an endless bender. He started seeing his family less and less. Hugh met the love of his life, Lydia, on one of his many nights at the pub. He fell in love with her the moment he saw her chug a pint of ale. Lydia wasn’t particularly interested in merchants, however, she was more the bad boy type of gal. Hugh started to change because of her and rarely showed up at work anymore.

In an attempt to get back on the right track, Hugh accepted a mission from the royal treasury. He was supposed to use the money the royal treasury had given him to buy a rare good. Instead, Lydia advised him to run away with it and start a new life with her. All went according to plan, until Lydia’s husband showed up. Chaos ensued and Hugh found his beloved dead in his arms and the man who had killed her had vanished.

Goodbye Hugh Blakemore

Everything changed from then on. Hugh indeed took the money from the royal treasury to start a new life: one of revenge. This sent the royal treasury after him, so it wasn’t a great start. Hugh’s already morally grey character slowly faded into black. At age twenty-four, he did not care for morals anymore, just revenge. It was him against the world. He no longer wanted to be a merchant, so he became something worse. Finally, the royal treasury caught up to him. In a battle for life and death, the ship of the Blakemore company Hugh had stolen was brought down by the royal navy. Hugh was believed to have met his demise with it, but alas, he got away.

Hello Hayes Hartford

I’m sorry, the old Hugh can’t come to the phone right now. Why? ‘Cause he’s dead!
R.I.P Hugh Blakemore, he died at sea.

Hugh needed a new identity and a new attitude toward life. And so, Hayes 'Rapscallion' Hartford was born. He named himself after his grandmother, a name that wasn’t particularly well-known, but one that one day would be. In a somewhat legal betting scheme –that was definitely not influenced by intimidation– Hugh gained a new love of his life: The Ithuriel. A rather beautiful ship, she is. With a ship, came a crew. And the crew became his new family.

This time around, Hayes was careful not to let himself be too well-known. He has a newfound purpose in life and has shifted back to a very morally grey existence. People know of him, but none really know what he looks like. Not until he introduces himself. Hayes ‘Rapscallion’ Hartford was a fearsome pirate, even more so than Hugh had ever been. Or was he a privateer? It’s never really quite clear how ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’ Hayes does things. Only one thing from his old days remains: his thirst for revenge.