Francis was once a reever under Meriam Dremholtz, long, long ago. He was a bastard of a privateer, but has long since gone past his prime. Still, his bark is still loud, & he knows a good sword arm when he sees it. After 20 years of service, he retired to be a trainer. During the Civil War, he worked as a refugee smuggler & go-to man for those who needed to hide, & afterward, he accepted a small title as a baron of the coast.

Now, however, he has begun itching for the old days, & a timely visit by a young Torch to recruit him for a potentially deadly mission has gotten him up off his ass & back into the thick of things... on an airship. Do wonders never cease?

Relationships:

• The sea: an old lover
• Merian: a former crush
• Damon: the best soldier in the world
• Klaus: a godsend
• The Band: potential to be a very crusty bunch
• Arlie: a lucky man & a crazy bastard
• Arsul: awaiting judgment
• Aurelia: rumor has it, she killed the ogrish emperor--an assassin? just a lucky little girl?
• Avery: poncy little guy got his eyes torn out? probably deserved it
• Dionysus: halfpint to be ignored until further notice
• Hunny: I'll believe it when I see it
• Jack: a rousing good singer, him
• Kashaji: I've seen big dogs in my day
• Little Wing: I seem to recall there was a bird mentioned in the briefing
• Magnum: I've heard that last name before...
• Manny: I'll believe it when I see it
• Sue: freak
• Itoh: Varhail couldn't even get him to keep his mouth shut
• Loash: nothing is more trouble than a gnome
• Airship crew: this is going to be fun
• Cogswell: he'd better keep us up
• Odellino: poncy fruit
• Laird: now there's a man to cross swords with