Hellia Celaeno

Hellia washed up onto the Isla de Oro after the sea freed her from brutal servitude upon a naval vessel. Shortly after her arrival, black plumes sprouted from her back, drawing her to discover her harpy nature. Though she grew up many hundreds of miles away in a coastal town off of the Aegean sea, she quickly found a home at Puerto Dorado. As Captain of the Storm Crest, she takes pride in looking after the ship and its crew, whom she considers family. She also frequents the tavern and loves to indulge in coconut rum.

Backstory
Sometime before the turn of the 18th century, a young girl roamed the streets of Nafplio, Greece. The land for miles around was under Ottoman rule, and the girl begged for scraps of bread and drank seawater and stale mead. Old Greece was dead, and in its place was the sovereign rule. Chaos. The gods had abandoned them many hundreds of years ago. So had the girl’s parents. She had no memory of them-- Wait, no. That wasn’t necessarily true. She could recall a commanding voice, a warm hand on her cheek. Pain, and then abandonment.

---

Before men began their slow destruction of the world, Typhon, Titan and Father of Beasts, challenged Zeus for control of the cosmos. Typhon was wrathful, powerful. He was greatly feared by the gods and goddesses alike, and the battle that waged was violent. But in a great effort, Zeus was able to use his lightning bolts to vanquish Typhon and imprison him in Tartarus.

Typhon waited for centuries, weakened and lonely, until a woman appeared. She was a priestess for the god Hermes. For her dedication to the temple and her heavenly beauty, she was lavished upon with the gift of travel. She had explored the Underworld and had found herself in the hellish mountain that was Tartarus, and found pity in the fallen Typhon. She began to visit him to speak, but mostly to listen. She found herself in love.

When Zeus discovered that the priestess had borne Typhon’s child, he smote her from his place in Olympus. He prepared to kill the child as well until his queen intervened. The child was kept in seclusion in the halls of the gods until she grew old enough to walk and to speak, and Zeus grew tired.

He imbued the babe with magic to repress her beast-like nature, locked away her wings in a prison of flesh, and abandoned her to the world of man with but a single word to speak of her true self. Hellia.

So Hellia begged. Decades passed and she grew, albeit slowly. She watched as the world forgot about the old gods and as new religions sprung forth. Nations grew and fell. Her own lands were taken. When she appeared teenaged, she began aiding sailors at the docks. Offloading crates, cleaning the decks of merchant ships, and even tagging along on small voyages when allowed, though she always seemed to drag poor weather along with her.

---

Many decades later, as a woman, she had gained work on an Ottoman ship. On one of the excursions west, their vessel came upon a ship manned by the Royal Navy. Her captain mistakenly decided to overtake the ship and they were brutally and swiftly defeated. Hellia was captured and shackled, and impressed into service upon the Naval ship. She was back to begging.

Only this time it was to Poseidon, Davy Jones, whoever might be listening. Desperate, whispered prayers.

As was usual, storms began rocking the vessel, and the soldiers whispered of the “Stormbringer.” The storms culminated in a great hurricane off of the coast of the West Indies that sank the ship. Someone had heard her. Someone had set her free.

And so the two-thousand-year-old woman clung to a bit of wood and washed up on the beaches of the Isla de Oro, a strange itch upon her back, and a fiery power awakening in her blood.

Appearance & Gear
Most notable about Hellia are the plush, inky wings that extend from her mid-back. Despite their large size, the harpy herself is quite small, with a dainty frame that allows for ease of flight. She carries a small, plain dagger, as well as an ornate shortsword crafted by Razor Quartermaster Cornilis de Roiter. The blade’s handle is wrapped in fine leather, and the blade itself sits in its very own leather sheath as well - all stitched, punched, and decorated with images of Greek heroes. Besides her Captain’s coat, Hellia's clothing is quite modest. She sports a beige blouse with slits for her wings, dark pants, and dirty boots.

Personality
Hellia may be well traveled, but she remains blissfully naive and often oblivious. Still, she is loyal to a fault, and never turns down the opportunity to protect both friends and strangers. Emotional situations make her uncomfortable, so she bakes various sweet treats in order to boost morale. Her attempts to diffuse tension with humor sometimes result in misfortune.

Abilities & Skills

 * Captain Currently serving as Captain, Hellia has connections all over Puerto Dorado, and she knows Isla de Oro like the back of her hand. Her ship has no secrets for her.
 * Thrower of Knives Hellia is adept at knife throwing and can throw blades with high accuracy.
 * Multilingual She can speak English and Greek.
 * Wingbearer Hellia has a pair of wings on her back that provide her with storm-swift flight.
 * Storm Summoner As a Harpy, Hellia is able to summon storms and harness a kernel of Zeus' lightning.
 * Servant of the Fates The ancient Greek Fates are constantly whispering in Hellia's ear, feeding her information and order. This allows her to discern the goodness of souls.

Other Information

 * Although she's a mortal, Hellia is two thousand years old.
 * Hellia joined the server on June 22nd, 2021.
 * She became Captain on September 17th, 2021.
 * She became Captain on September 17th, 2021.