Einar Noksaitaa

Aliases

• Einari (diminutive, insulting) – used by Mejela

Physical description

General physical condition

Physically fit for a man of his age, Einar nonetheless suffers from diabetes and arthritis.

Notable features

Einar stands tall with a military posture. His large beard and tusks make him physically imposing despite his advanced years. He wears his hair and beard tightly braided and strung with rings rumoured to have been taken from the fingers of the dead.

Einar’s right ear is burned away and he is both blind and almost deaf on that side – the result of an explosion during the battle of Agbodetia. He uses a charmed earring to compensate for his hearing loss and wears an eyepatch over his eye; the patch has a sigil pressed into the leather, but its effect is unknown.

He has multiple tattoos across his chest and arms, most blurred and faded with age.

Personal history

The third child of the king of Kaulaan, Einar was raised on the island of Kaulaan – a small island with enormous strategic significance to Bjeria – before being fostered by Empress Cynebeorht (Cynebeorht the Pious) at the age of five. Returning home at ten years old, Noksiataa had been instilled with a profound loyalty to the empire and to the Empress Cynebeorht in particular.

He joined the navy at age 11, serving as a cadet under the guidance of Captain Toril Aarseth before undergoing officer training at Tjalkɨ Naval Academy. He quickly gained a reputation as a man who expected loyalty and hard work from his crew but offered respect and fair treatment in return; later in his career, being assigned to his command was considered a mark of status.

Grievously injured at the battle of Agbodetia, in 5.911, Einar continued commanding his ship despite his wounds. He lost his hearing and sight on his right side as a result of his injuries, and compensates for them with the use of arcane prostheses.

Promoted out of active service in 5.915, Einar volunteered for active duty the day Bjeria joined the Mage War. He returned to his previous command, Widows’ Lament, and was tasked with harassing Alliance shipping. He did this for two years, ending with the bombardment of the Alliance-held port of Ajenevede. The Alliance’s retaliation forced Einar to take Lament and the other surviving ships north while the Alliance secured the Ogania islands, cutting off their way home. Feeling the weight of his duty to his ship and crew, Einar ordered his followers to attack non-military targets for supplies. He has never questioned whether this was the correct course of action and has no sympathy for the civilians killed as a result of his actions.

After the war, gave way to talks of peace and reparations, Einar and his actions became a sticking point; Bjeria disavowed any knowledge of his actions and conceded to the Alliance’s demands to have him tried for piracy. Einar was ordered to turn himself and his crew over to face Bjerian justice. Caught between his duty to his emperor and his duty to his crew, Einar attempted to bargain for clemency – he would accept fully responsibility for his actions if his crew were spared, but the offer was refused: all who participated in piracy would be tried for piracy. Einar refused to condemn his crew so that Sigfrid – who was, in Einar’s mind, a weak emperor – could save face.

Since then, Einar has refused to bend his knee to anyone, preferring to die on his own terms rather than live subject to another faithless master. Building on his naval reputation and character, Einar has carved a place for himself as one of the more infamous pirates sailing the waters of Ophoné and the East Erwan seas, and the distinctive silhouette of Widows’ Lament strikes fear into the hearts of captains from three continents.

Education

• Boarding school
• Four years’ officer training at Tjalkɨ Naval Academy

Work experience

• 11-13: Cadet
• 13-17: Officer training at Tjalkɨ
• 17-present: Bjerian navy

Description of home

Frozen over during winter, roasting hot during summer, Kaulaan is an island fortress guarding the mouth of the Summer Sea. The Kaulaani, and especially the Noksaitaa clan, have a long military history and are deeply patriotic.

Worst childhood memory

When he was five years old, Einar was fostered by the imperial family, in a tradition dating back generations. The Noksaitaas were more hands-on parents than the imperial family, and young Einar missed his family terribly. His first night away, he cried himself to sleep and was bullied for it by one of the older princes until he fought back.

Accomplishments and achievements

Einar is justifiably proud of keeping his men alive through the war, and evading capture and surviving since. Bold, aggressive, and willing to engage in “ungentlemanly conduct” in order to provide his ship with food and fuel, he has established the crew of the Widows’ Lament as some of the most recognised and feared pirates of Ophoné.

Failures and embarrassments

Einar’s only regret is not being able to secure clemency for his men, but places fault for this with the Magisterium’s intractability and Emperor Sigfrid’s capitulation with the Alliance.

Intellectual characteristics

After a successful military career and five years of sailing under a black flag, Einar views life as a series of conflicts to win and uses all the tools at his disposal to keep his opponents off-guard. Running lean and having to be self-sufficient, he seizes opportunities when they present themselves. Ever-ambitious, he moves from one objective to the next, never resting on his laurels. His plans tend to be fairly straightforward, albeit layered with redundancies, and regards setbacks as minor annoyances. When he can’t reach a target directly, he comes from another angle or bides his time until he sees another opportunity.

His duty to his crew and his ship is a core of pride – he considers himself successful, powerful and with a right to take what he wants if he’s strong enough to get it. If thwarted, he will come back and take what he wanted simply because he was deprived of it.

While Einar considers the world at large to be arrayed against him, he still views himself as a gentleman and operates under a personal code of honour. He doesn’t begrudge people who oppose him, even if they best him, viewing it as a simple matter of crossed wills. Despite his driving ambition, Einar can be trusted to keep his word, although he expects others to do the same; he does not forgive betrayal or cowardice and would destroy those who turn against him.

Religious Views

Einar is a lifelong adherent to the Bjerian state religion, dutifully making offerings to both aspects of the divine empire, but privately favouring Bjeria-Victorious over Bjeria-Maefra. In his later years, feeling betrayed by the empire, he has begun to view gods as tools to be used and discarded.

Personality

Core beliefs

• A Real Man exerts his authority over others
• A leader is like a father to his people

Motivation

• Nothing is more important than fulfilling your duty

While protecting and providing for his crew has become Einar’s primary motivation, his patriotism – once his guiding principle – has been entirely eclipsed by his sense of betrayal. Every action he takes is part of a long-term plan to bring his personal brand of justice to the world.

How he sees himself

A strong leader; a decent man; authoritative; prepared; honourable

How others see him

A strong leader; dependable; protective; conservative; formiddable

Strengths

• Excellent leader
• Practical and organised
• Decisive
• Responsible
• Dependable and trustworthy
• Loyal and protective

Raised to be a military leader, Einar places a great deal of emphasis on traditions and law, viewing obedience as his due but ensuring the welfare of his crew as his duty, treating his charges with respect and striving to provide them with a sense of confidence and stability. His is courageous, hardworking, and fair, never asking his crew to do anything he wouldn’t do or hasn’t done himself, and takes a genuine interest in the welfare and career progression of his underlings.

He thrives on challenge and competition, preferring to stay focused on the present moment and not get lost in ruminating about the past or worrying over the future. When things go wrong or a task is unfinished, he cannot rest until he has set everything straight and the work has been done.

Weaknesses

• Traditionalist and patriarchal
• Prone to outbursts of anger
• Tends to blame self for failure
• Rigid and unyielding
• Commanding – expects to be obeyed
• Believes that ‘might makes right’

Understanding and enforcing a social hierarchy is important to Einar – he believes a society works best when everybody know their place and what’s expected of them and what they can expect from others. This can lead to him becoming unforgiving and he considers dereliction of duty or a broken social contract to be crime that must be punished.

He has an explosive anger, though it often doesn’t last long, and feels betrayal keenly. He communicates directly, in a manner that can come across as overly blunt or harsh, though rarely cruel.

Hobbies

Playing the langeleik - a type of zither - singing, fishing, birdwatching, strategy board games like mancala.

Favourite books

Crime fiction and military history

Greatest hope

To reclaim Kaulaan and re-establish the Noksaitaa clan

Greatest fear

That his stubbornness has doomed his crew

Relationships

As the third of four children, Einar wasn’t required to marry and has never felt the need, describing himself as “mercifully free from physical and emotional lust”. He dotes on his siblings’ children and used to bring them gifts whenever he returned home.

Although Einar maintains a professional distance with his crew, years at sea inevitably blurs lines. He plays in the ship’s band and watches the crew’s sports tournaments with his officers. He is closest with Surgeon-Lieutenant Ytte Friis, who has served under him for eighteen years, and intended to offer her a position in his household after the War.

Family

Einar’s mother was Queen Astrid Noksaitaa of Kaulaan; his father was Prince-consort Hleogar Nothilda, Margrave of Felkirrin. On their mother’s death, Einar’s oldest brother, Bård Noksaitaa, ascended the throne.

Bård died unexpectedly shortly before the Mage War, leaving his daughter, Åshild, as Queen of Kaulaan. Although young, she was a capable leader and resisted Alliance efforts to access the Summer Sea until she and her younger brothers, Ove and Halvor, were assassinated in 5.919.

The only surviving members of the Noksaitaa clan are Linnea, Margravine of Felkirrin and Duchess of Asmukala, and her children, Valdemar, Siiri, and Eviliina. Eviliina is a researcher in Ekhna, and the only one of the Noksaitaa clan that Einar is still in contact with.

Partner

In 5.923, Einar entered a political marriage with Mejela Litia-Agbayani, a pirate captain and self-styled “Queen of the Ragged Fleet”.