Gale's Thoughts: Sargent

Most Chiaroscurians, if need be, could probably adapt to the pirate lifestyle with a minimum amount of effort. I didn't realize how wholeheartedly I believed that until Sargent and her crew came along.

Sargent is one of those dragons that inspires others to follow her based almost solely on her reputation. Aside from Kendra and Delenn, she's the oldest dragon within Chiaroscuro's borders by a fair margin, and as such has made a name for herself over the course of the last thousand years. She still looks as young and in shape as she did those thousand years ago, however, thanks to her vampiric status.

Surprisingly, I actually heard more about the pirate life when I was out on my own as a young dragon than I did in the nearly three centuries of Chiaroscuroian life before The Ichor came to our borders. Most of the dragons who are not already entrenched in a pirate crew and want to join up are younger freelance workers, sometimes as young as early adolescence. Especially for the pirates who take most of their jobs on land rather than the sea or sky, younger, stronger bodies are more well-suited for such demanding work. Mirrors in particular were in high demand back then; there's a bunch of pirate groups in the Scarred Wasteland, and most other species would rather find work elsewhere.

The real glory in piracy in Sornieth comes from the sky pirates. The sea pirates are classics, of course, and most of the great pirate stories take place on the waters, but the sky pirates are easily the most versatile and feared of them all. Sargent was originally a sea pirate, but ended up being a captain for the the first wave of Sornieth's sky pirates.

None of Sargent's first crew still grace the decks of The Ichor, but from the stories I've heard, that's probably for the better. Sargent was a very different dragon in the early days of her career; bodies vanished in the wake of her attacks and were never found. In fact, I don't think any investigation has ever turned up any evidence of her murders, even though it's painfully clear that all the victims met death.

Sargent no longer holds any taste for anything beyond stealing, but her reputation is enough that most dragons stay out of her way. She mostly works with black market dealers now, smugglers and thieves and suspiciously-well-off artifact collectors. Since her work has inched its way into the organized crime bracket of society, she also has a bigger crew now than she ever had before. She's got supernatural experts, hired muscle, a master of demolition, a professional smooth-talker, and more. I'm noticing, though, that she takes in individuals who some might argue are a prize in their own right. Gazario, Rochambeau, Reid, and Saoirse in particular would certainly be sought after.

I've had a few affiliated clans ask why I deal with such obviously disreputable sorts of dragons, and while a lot of reasons come to mind, there are three major ones. Having dragons like Sargent around makes dragons think twice about causing trouble within our borders, Chiaroscuro is a home for those from all walks of life, and if something drastic were to happen, having connections like Sargent's could prove invaluable.

Sargent and I speak often, and over the few years we've known each other, we've made more accommodations for airships to dock out in Purlieus Hagalaz. Despite our differences, we work well together as a team and have opened up Chiaroscuro to a wider range of merchants from both reputable and disreputable backgrounds. We're good business partners, and even if it puts Chiaroscuro on the wrong side of certain dragons' radars to be working with someone that has Sargent's reputation, I think the benefits far outweigh the potential backlash.

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Baseline Stats





While her reputation these days is more effective at getting Sargent what she wants than any sort of social acumen is, she's always been very good at negotiating conversation and spinning lies. There's a reason none of her victims have ever been found, and it's not just that she knows where to hide them. Also, spending hundreds of years wrangling pirates day in and day out means she had to get used to diffusing squabbles without bloodshed if possible.



There are a few dragons in Chiaroscuro who are definitely better at combat than Sargent is, but her vampiric abilities grant her increased healing, and she's quick and hard to knock down. I think Knight or Ilosovic are probably the only two Chiaroscurians who might have a distinct advantage in a physical fight, though we have a few spellcasters who could do some ugly damage if they worked together too. Regardless, no one wants to fight Sargent, and for good reason.



Sargent is extremely smart, but not scary smart like I was afraid of when we met, and thank the Gods for that because Chiaroscuro is already home to a fair few scary smart individuals. Sargent's had so much life experience and so many dangerous experiences that even if she wasn't this intelligent in her younger years, she definitely got there.



Most pirates and vampires live extremely unlucky lives, even if they're powerful, and Sargent has mostly managed to avoid social and physical consequences despite being both of those things. Not to say she hasn't had her moments, but either way, most dragons' luck would have run out long ago if they lived as long as she did.



Aside from enhanced healing abilities that happen without her needing to lift a claw, Sargent's not very magically adept. She knows a few illusion spells that are decently well-crafted and has a surprising amount of history with cursed artifacts, but with so many physical advantages on her side, she's never seen fit to develop her magical aptitude any further.



She's as healthy as a wildclaw her age could hope to be. Her limited dietary options, a couple old wounds that never healed properly despite her natural healing abilities, and some old ghosts she can't let go mean she's not in perfect condition, though.




A Nightwatcher Subtype of the Draconic Vampire Subspecies