Tyson Dirge
(Once known as Tyson Ackerman)
Ty
24
Place of birth
Ladenia
Blood status
Cursed
Species
Human(?)
Gender
Male
Sexuality
Straight
Occupation(desired)
First Mate
Height
6'' 2
Weapon of choice
Two short swords
Tyson's fighting style is mostly in agility. He strikes and moves quickly, like the water, dancing around his opponent more than anything. Because of his long years of honing his swordsman skills on his Uncle's boat he knows how to handle the blade and keep himself alive. He sometimes even makes a game of it, often putting in chiding jabs or make small jokes as he swings his blades. Though it seems like he's having fun, he takes every fight seriously and despite his soft attitude, there is no mistaking the killer look in his eyes.
Background
He used to have a name.
The Ackerman family was a wealthy family. An honorable one. They rose up from nothing and became the top trading company on the island: Ladenia. An impressive size island with many fishing towns and markets and in the center of it all was the Ackerman family.
The Ackerman's had their own ships that sailed out to the world and traded with other nearby islands with their most prized product: Salt. As it so happens, the Ackerman residence was on top of a salt mine, theirs by right, and so they were able to mine the prized ingredient and sell it for profit.
The Ackerman's, however, were not a greedy folk. They took care of the island and its people, making sure that all were thriving and were generous in their wealth. They were loved and respected by all.
Which was why the attack came as such a surprise.
No one knows what happened. One night the Ackerman manor caught aflame and all who were inside perished: The grandparents, the dear mother and father, and their poor five children...
All except one.
Unknown to the townsfolk, one child had survived, the young Tyson Ackerman. The eldest child who had been meant to inherit the family business. The manor had been attacked by a group of assassins who sail under an unknown flag, hired by Tyson's jealous uncle, Ven, brother to his father. His uncle had felt cheated out of the wealth after Tyson's father sent him away when he tried to steal from them. His Uncle did nothing except drink his money away and cheat and conned others out of their own wealth so Tyson's father wanted his terrible influence away from the family.
This did not stop his uncle. After hiring the assassins to kill his family and destroy his home, Tyson was forced to abide by his uncle. Telling him all of the family secrets and where they keep their riches. Ven decided to keep Tyson around and raise him as his own as some spiteful final act toward his dead brother. Taking his only living son and turning him into all the things his brother hated.
Growing up under his Uncle, at the young tender age of 10, Tyson was forced to learn how to steal and kill to survive. He learned quickly that the only way to stay on his uncle's good side was to make him happy, and nothing made him happier than praising him and doing everything he said. As Tyson grew older he began to realize his uncle was easy to manipulate. So long he pleased him and stay on his good side, Tyson was able to get away with a lot of things and bide his time. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to earn his freedom...and revenge.
For ten long years Tyson had to deal with his uncle's cruelty. He often went without food and was constantly beat on, either by his uncle or the crew. He started off as a cabin boy and there was no end to the constant torment placed upon him by the crew. However, he was also able to get around easily without much notice, and one would be surprised by how much one could hear when being overlooked.
Tyson listened to every word the crew would whisper among themselves and realized quickly how much they actually despised his uncle. Over time, Tyson began to report them to his uncle, earning his trust and the deceitful crew would be thrown overboard and left behind. Sometimes even shot dead in front of the others as a message. Tyson grew quickly in Ven's trust and was raised from a simple cabin boy to a proper crew member, then further still till he became Ven's most trusted ally.
But it was all a ploy. Inside Tyson was a rage. A rage that wanted out. He watched his uncle spend his family's hard earned money into nothing with drink and women. Was forced to hear his uncle speak such terrible things about his family, his father especially, then brag how easy it had all been to end them all. Even clench his teeth to keep from throwing up as his Uncle praised him. How he was different from the rest of them. How he was like a son to him.
Then the day finally came. Tyson practically ran his uncle's ship himself. Over the years he made his uncle dwindle his old crew further and further, and for those that remained, Tyson made friendly with. Using his cunning, Tyson managed to rise a mutiny against his uncle. Making them believe he had been hoarding gold from them all along, and watched on in silence as they tortured his Uncle for information, only looking on in cold silence as his uncle pleaded for his aid and mercy.
It never came.
Then, with the screams of his uncle finally silenced, the rest of the crew went deep below decks to begin turning the place inside out for the riches that were promised to them. All the while Tyson headed above decks and to a lone boat that was prepared for one sailor. Once in the boat he picked up a single lantern and let it drop onto the deck of his uncle's ship. He lowered himself to the water below as the ship caught aflame, thanks to the oil Tyson slowly spilt and spread all across the ship.
Tyson sailed away on his boat as screams filled the air from the burning crew members as they tried to escape the firey depths of the ship. Flinging themselves into the ocean in an attempt to save themselves. The lone ship lighting the dark ocean like a beacon.
Tyson did not plan to live after that. He packed little provisions on his boat so, in a matter of days, he was on the verge of starving to death. But he didn't care. He laid in his boat as it drifted through the sea, staring up into the stars of the night sky. Empty. He was no one. He had no name. No family. Nothing. His uncle had made him into something he never wanted to be. He had no idea who 'Tyson' was anymore.
Then he died.
Instead of floating into the afterlife, however, he was visited by Calypso. She offered him a choice: Go back and fight for a life he was meant to have, or fade away into Davy Jone's locker where nothing awaited him but more suffering. However, to go back came with a heavy price: Should he return, he would never be allowed to leave the sea. Living as a creature of the water until he found his purpose.
He chose to live. Just like that he awoke back in his boat, gasping for air, unable to find any. Not only that but he could scent something nearby...fresh meat. The scent made his mouth water.
Without thinking he threw himself over the edge of his boat and into the water...and transformed. His body grew longer. His fingers became webbed talons. Webbed spines lined his back and ended at a finned tail. Not far beneath him a shark was circling...and he dove for it.
He grabbed it with his webbed talons and tore into it effortlessly with razor sharp fangs. He was in a frenzy. Only once he devoured the shark did he begin to realize what had happened. It wouldn't be until some time later that he realized he had become a sea dragon, just like Calypso had said: A creature of the water.
Over the years he learned to coexist with this side of himself. He found he could transform at will between forms and visit the dry land but only for a limited time. If he stayed away from the water for too long then he would begin to weaken, then grow ill, then finally die.
So Tyson travels. Keeping his curse a secret and searching for the thing that would give him purpose and lift this curse so that he may live a normal life he never got to have.
Personality
Tyson had lost himself many years ago since he had been a child. For years he had been forced to be something he wasn't and when he was finally free, he had to rediscover who he is. Thus far he is actually pretty easy going. With nothing to really tie him down his worries are carefree and he finds himself able to bounce from place to place with no problem. Untouched by the financial stresses that so often plagues others.
Though Tyson grew up around ruffians and brutes, he actually rather enjoys being around other people. It had taken some time for him to warm up to other people and avoid being so wary but, over time, he learned how to read them thanks to his skills growing up on his Uncle's ship. He is pretty good at reading people and telling a bad apple from a good apple, but also to always be wary for any deceit. He is careful not to put too much trust in others but he is always the life of the party. He could make friends with just about anyone.
He has many skills in pickpocketing and lockpicking since they were skills he had to learn to survive. However, he avoids using them. He had done many bad things in his life... He didn't want to keep adding to the list. Calypso had given him another chance at life and he didn't want to ruin it.
Despite fun lifestyle, he always keeps everyone at arm's length and he disappears almost as quickly as he appears. He can't risk anyone knowing his secret. He knew the greediest of men would likely hunt him down if they ever knew what he was, and he still had trouble understanding it himself.
Though he gets along well with anyone he meets, he still truly doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere. Not the ocean and not the land. There's still that hole deep inside... So deep and vast like the ocean itself. Unable to be filled. Futilely trying to fill it with merriment and company but it just isn't enough. His smile never quite reaches his eyes and he knows that no one truly knows him. The real him.
He hardly knows him himself.
Sea Dragon
This is the form Tyson takes when he becomes his sea dragon form. He is able to transform at will though his sea dragon cannot survive on land and needs sea water to breath. The tips of his spines as well as the markings along his body can glow, giving light to the darkest of depths, and his webbed talons and tail allow him to swim at amazing speeds.
Weapons
Bite
Tail slam
Talons
Skills
Echo location
Glow in the dark
Incredible sense of smell
Weaknesses
Cannot breath on land
Vulnerable to fire and heat
Size
12 ft long