Finn Hamm (MC)

"Nobody's going to serve you if it doesn't serve them."

- The Black Wolf

Finn Adrianovich Hamm was an Occan pirate born in 4821 operating out of the continent of Aphelion. Nicknamed "the Black Wolf" for his brutality, Hamm and the crew of the Adipocere were among the most notable pirates of the chaotic interregnum period, particularly for their involvement in the sacking of Corona and the ensuing legendary Hunt for the Tomb of Herobrine. His complicated life and eventual death became the stuff of much folklore and fiction, and public view of his character has warped and shifted from his heyday to the contemporary period.

Biography
Hamm was born in a period of relative prosperity for Aquila. With the Alliance at the height of its power and the founding of Nova Aquila in sight, the continent of Aphelion was undergoing rapid efforts to chart its harsh interior, and the city of Corona was one of many settlements to reap the rewards of the continent's growing export sector. While the remote city of Dreiton, the so-called Shimmering Jewel of the southern coast, was no doubt the fastest growing colony, its political situation was quickly deteriorating due to growing secessionist sentiment against its "benefactors" back in the old world. While Corona was de-facto within Dreiton's sphere of influence due to the latter's monopoly over the former's bountiful redstone mines, Corona was much more content with the colonial status quo, and used its friendly relationship with the corporate wing of the Alliance to negotiate full sovereignty over the Strait of Corona, the highly profitable stretch of air and sea between the Aquilan mainland and the Aphelion.

The city of Corona had been under full political control of the "Last Bastion" Templar cell for some time by Hamm's adolescence, owing to a swift and bloodless coup some 5 years prior. Widely regarded as the last remaining formal Templar cell in existence, the Last Bastion rapidly consolidated control over Corona under the guidance of the Seneschal and his inner Circle of Knowing, converting the humble city into the Principality of Corona, a crusader state; while the reawakening of the Old Ways was taking the rest of the world by storm, Corona advertised itself as a haven against new heathenistic practices where all magic was outlawed. Additionally, to compete with Dreiton's wildly profitable lumber, diamond, and iron industries, the Circle of Knowing nationalized the state's redstone mines, freeing itself from both Aquilan and Dreitonese shareholders. Immigration to the Principality grew exponentially; merchants and mercenaries willing to fly the Templar cross were welcomed with open arms, while refugees were expected to work in the redstone mines until the arbitrary price of citizenship was paid. Many would die due to exertion or spontaneous ignition before their "debt" was absolved.

Hamm's family immigrated to Corona from the Occan city of Humberto. Once a humble wheat colony for the Empire of Medriaas, the city fell into hard times with the annihilation of Providence some years prior, and was itself sacked by the Ancient Fear in the Final Incursion. Some stubborn merchants stayed behind, but the Hamms eventually hitched a sloop to the Principality with a paltry sum of emeralds and some healing potions in tow. They were able to bargain citizenship with what little they had - under the condition that Finn be offered as collateral to work off the remaining tithe. His parents reluctantly agreed, and he was shipped off to the mines; only a lad at the time, "Finn Hamm" was merely a pseudonym - he had no memory of his given or family name.

Finn would often dream of freedom and rebellion. He would hear legends of a group of heroes called the "Outlanders" who saved the world, and naively believed that eventually they would come and liberate him from the mines some day as well. That day never came, and he had his naivety and compassion beaten out of him by the time he was a teenager. Eventually, though, some hope for emancipation came when news spread that the Brotherhood was in need of fresh recruits to help protect its shipping lanes in the Strait of Corona. Hamm jumped at the opportunity and began to petition for knighthood.

His freedom did not come so easily, however. Initiation was not lightly given, and Hamm was forced to prove himself by rite of battle before he could be unshackled. He bludgeoned, beat, and clawed his way through dozens of other miners petitioning for knighthood before his trial was complete. Afterwards, he underwent several months of brutal conditioning until he was finally declared a Knight Irregular by the Circle of Knowing. He was immediately deployed to the Strait upon the Templar vessel, the Vindicator, part of a new line of Aphelion-manufactured airships, which were rapidly becoming the world standard after reverse-engineering of Ender technology made traditional sailing obsolete.

Hamm was a remarkably effective and brutal privateer, and due to his expert tactical sense and proclivity for intimidation and aggressive strategy was quickly named Captain of the Vindicator after the previous holder captain was fried by a stray lightning bolt from a pirate with a strange enchanted grimoire. Hamm was bewildered and fascinated having never witnessed the Old Ways in person before, and surreptitiously claimed the tome for himself, claiming it was destroyed in the battle.

Finn's obsession with the occult grew. He intercepted exponentially more profane artifacts attempting to be smuggled across the Strait by the month, and had even begun to attempt some rites of his own. His first mate, Sofia, was initially mortified upon discovering his secret, but quickly became enthralled as well; steadily, more and more members of the crew were clued into the conspiracy, and whispers of mutiny against the Last Bastion began to circulate. Hamm had never bore any love for the Brotherhood - he simply viewed them as a tool for his ascension, and was eager to cast them aside if it meant he could live as a free man and continue to uncover secrets of eld.

Eventually, however, talk of the conspiracy reached the wrong ear. One particularly stubborn Prior immediately deserted and made a beeline back to Corona to alert the Circle of Knowing of the imminent mutiny; sensing treachery, Hamm quickly purged any of his crewmates not already involved in the rebellion and attempted to flee south. The Vindicator was intercepted in the skies over Dashari by a Templar warship and an epic clash ensued - though it was quickly cut short once the Dashari warriors began to fire at both sides indiscriminately from below. Narrowly, Hamm's crew were able to use the distraction to lose the warship and continue on their path towards the Free City of Dreiton, far beyond the reach of the Last Bastion.

Captain Hamm and the newly renamed Adipocere eventually ran out of of redstone fuel and crash landed in the outskirts of Dreiton, within a massive forest whost canopy shrouded the savage groves below. The crew fought tooth and nail to evade the hostile fauna within the evil forest - jumbees, slimes, and other unnatural beastes - before arriving upon an abandoned settlement called the Grotto. Its dilapidated spires evoked memories of a byegone era where the Old Ways reigned supreme. They came upon a hollow which seemed curiously recently inhabited, within which was a wealth of arcane artifacts and knowledge. They raided the domicile, only losing a handful of crewmen to sinister traps meant to ward off looters. Hamm soon reached the sealed off depths of the hollow, where he discovered a corrupted diamond hosting the spirit of a deceased black mage named Benthamic. The sorcerer's consciousness immediately latched itself into Finn's mind, instructing him in the ways of the dark arts and constantly insisting that he set aside his vain worldly pursuits and instead devote his efforts to the "grand struggle" against injustice and tyranny. Hamm was mostly uninterested in the dead wizard's musings, but occasionally heeded his wisdom in moments of turmoil; the two were forever intertwined, and it is unclear whether some decisions Finn made in his life were truly his, or the result of possession by the spirit.

After sufficiently turning the Grotto inside out, the crew of the Adipocere finally proceeded to Dreiton, where they acquired the parts to refit their airship and laid low for a few months, accumulating some capital by reselling Templar plunder and establishing connections within the city for later exploits. Hamm was initially somewhat content to simply remain in Dreiton to continue studying the arcane, but his first mate and confidant Sofia convinced him to use his newfound powers to live a life of crime instead, and perhaps even take revenge on their new Templar enemies, who were certain to come after them eventually. After scouring the city for enough scallywags brave and foolish enough to replenish the ranks of the Adipocere, Captain Hamm and Sofia set off for Bakadaja, the pirate haven on the west coast of Aphelion in a state of cold war between Windforth and Tyfen.

Hamm and his boys were a welcome addition to the pirate republic's fleet, though some were suspicious of their link to the Templar contingent, who were tightening their grip upon pirate activities in the Strait of Corona by the day. Nevertheless, Finn used his intricate knowledge of Templar strategy to offer the pirates new smuggling routes which mostly avoided Bastion interception. With Hamm at the helm of pirate activities in the Strait, the Templars were forced to withdraw and reevaluate their strategy. Meanwhile, the Adipocere established itself as one of the most feared pirate vessels in all Aquila, even harassing Nova Aquilan merchant ships as far north as the waters of New Augusta. With the Templars temporarily outsmarted and the Alliance's navy all but defunct due to Pluton's Rebellion in Sivistys, Hamm and Sofia began to build something of a pirate fleet of their own, sparing their victims from being thrown off the bow in exchange for vassalship. Hamm and his crew became the stuff of legend for their brutal effectiveness, and merchants across the Avunian Ocean came to fear the menacing black-masked captain they called "the Black Wolf."

The Adipocere did not have free reign indefinitely, however. The Circle of Knowing eventually brokered a deal with Tyfen, Windforth, Nova Aquila, and Dreiton to set aside their political intrigue and clamp down on pirate activities in the Strait of Corona, spearheaded by a newly revamped Templar fleet armed with guns derived from designs salvaged from the Incursion. Caught off guard, Hamm attempted to flee back towards Bakadaja, but they were intercepted by a newly established Templar blockade launched from Windforth. The Adipocere was forced to flee north, heading up towards Sivistys where they hoped to obtain temporary political asylum.

The battered city of New Detroit reluctantly sheltered the pirates. After being virtually destroyed in the Resurgent War and put down by scorched earth tactics by the Alliance quite recently, the populace were bitter and defeated. Memories of Pluton's Rebellion were still fresh on their minds, and many yearned for another chance to strike against Nova Aquila and regain sovereignty. Sensing an opportunity, Captain Hamm began to reignite the spark of rebellion, and set himself up as the leader of the new revolution that New Detroit desperately needed. In truth, he was apathetic towards the revolutionary fervor of the city and despised politics, but saw great potential in creating a distraction for Aquila so he could resume his activities.

Over the course of several months, Hamm bided his time, leading expeditions across Sivistys to Sidon and Corvus to secure supplies whilst Sofia smuggled herself and a small detachment of bodyguards to Dreiton to rendezvouz with their old contacts for weapons and fuel. Upon arriving at the Free City, it became immediately apparent that the citystate's political turmoil had reached a breaking point. The so-called "Dirty Wars" were now in full force, and the Council of 8 could no longer maintain influence over the region. Sofia and the detachment returned to New Detroit with a shipload of enchanted armor, weapons, and potions. Meanwhile, Hamm slipped past the aerial blockade by foot to reach his allies in Bakadaja to arrange for a coordinated assault. The captains there agreed on the condition that they be given a fair share of the Templars' plunder.

Hamm and Sofia led a daring attack on a Nova Aquilan redstone fuel refinery in Aragon to begin the insurgency, causing the Aquilan fleet to immediately withdraw from the Strait and travel northeast to protect its fuel interests. Upon arriving in the region, revolutionary forces beset the fleet, providing a distraction for the Adipocere to race directly for Corona. With Dreitonese and Aquilan forces scattered, Bakad forces were able to penetrate the blockade and allow Hamm and his boys to infiltrate the city's walls. The assassins detoned a redstone fuel cell under the inner chamber of the Circle of Knowing, violently killing them all, save the Seneschal, who escaped to Tyfen and became Hamm's bitter rival to the end.

With the city in chaos, the crew of the Adipocere infiltrated the vault of the Last Bastion, discovering massive obsidian chambers filled to the brim with precious gems and forbidden enchanted books. Most notable to Finn, though, was a thin golden blade crackling with black and cyan energy called the Invidere, along with a map to "the Tomb of Herobrine." The map alleged that only the Invidere could unlock whatever chthonic power lay within the Tomb, and that the secret could not leave the halls of the Templars.

The crew fled before the Bakad distraction could be broken, gathering what loot they could and setting aside a share for their associates as promised. With the Circle of Knowing annihilated and their leader sent into exile, the Templars had finally been crushed, and a provisional government sympathetic to Dreiton was established to restore some semblance of democracy. The blockade disintegrated, at least for the time being, and as piracy returned to the Strait, the trading powers sought alternative routes.

Hamm and his crew returned to Bakadaja as heroes and spent the next year ruthlessly plundering the Strait, much to Benthamic's chagrin, as the spirit insisted that Finn instead devote his efforts towards seeking the Tomb of Herobrine. Hamm was initially content to remain within familiar waters, but his hunger for a challenge eventually won over, and he and Sofia departed to seek the Tomb with the Templar map and the mage's guidance.

Combat profile

 * Strength: 6
 * Dexterity: 13
 * Constitution: 5
 * Intelligence: 14
 * Wisdom: 9
 * Charisma: 13
 * Class: Arcane trickster
 * Weapons: Rapier (the Invidere), daggers, sorcery
 * Armor: None
 * Alignment: Neutral evil
 * Proficiencies: Piloting, puzzle solving, battle planning, stealth, deception