Erik Einhertt

Erikk Einhertt is the Capitan of The Midnight Valiant, portrayed by Verdana; the creator of The Midnight Valiant.Erikk grew up in a small mountain village on the side of Mt. Blackburn in Alaska. Since he was a little boy, he dreamt to become a pilot and travel the world like the adventurers in Jules Verne's famous novels. Born into a family of historians, Erikk's father wanted his son to strive for more than a life of chasing legends. When Erikk turned 16, his father signed him up for The Arctic Academy of History, but Erikk had other plans. In the middle of the night, he snuck aboard a small exploration ship and hid among the cargo. The Captain eventually found him and took him in, to work as a cabin boy on the ship. The first step to an adventure much greater than Erikk had imagined...

Bio
At first glance, Erikk comes off as quite charismatic, charming and carefree. Despite radiating a great deal of confidence, he is neither cocky or self-absorbed. On the contrary, the scruffy Captain is a master at making people feel safe and welcome around him. He is good at socializing, always genuinely curious and optimistic, and doesn’t mind the place in the spotlight either (as long as it is on his premises). While he has the skills and authority of a leader, he’s a child and a goofball at heart, often walking with his thoughts everywhere and nowhere all at once. He is spontaneous and easily distracted, but as long as someone keeps him on the right track he is quite reliable. Luckily, his heart is bigger than his head, and his intentions are always good. Erikk cares deeply about those he loves, and will step into the role of protector without question. While he is prone to tease and joke around, he is very observant of his surroundings, and well aware of the line between work and play. Still, it can be hard for him to let go of his role as a reliable source of positive energy, which has made him very reluctant to allow negative emotions to properly surface. He will have brief bursts of frustration or discourage, but you will have to pin him to the wall to claw out what’s really bothering him.

Appearance
Erikk is built lean with long limbs and slim waist. He often wears many layers of clothes which may deceive the eye. While he does not directly lack muscle (you don’t get to roam the skies for a decade without building up some strength after all), he’s a lot leaner than he looks at first glance. He has more edges than curves, but his skin is soft and his hands are strong and gentle. There’s a slight crook to the bridge of his nose that matches his crooked smile. The waves of his hair are as dynamic and ever-changing as the glaciers in the arctic, but he will seldom tie it up unless he’s deeply concentrated. If he has spent all day on deck in the sun, subtle freckles will show across his nose.

For everyday he wears a button-up shirt and high-waisted pants, broad belt, rings (two on the left, one on the right), earrings (two in the right, one in the left), necklace with wooden pearls and a shark tooth, long winter boots with fur trim, fuzzy scarf, trapper hat with pilot goggles, long winter coat, (knitted) fingerless gloves, headband with jewellery, mostly blacks and browns. Nightclothes consists of pyjama pants or boxers (depending on how cold it is), fuzzy socks, black robe for the morning.

What Erikk actually smells like can be a real challenge to pinpoint sometimes. The smells are layered like periods of time stored in the layers of the ground. Sometimes it's the smell of frost and falling snow, mixed with dark coffee beans. Other times it's a strong scent of fuel and rusting iron, the smell of smoke clutching to his hair. If you keep digging you'll smell years upon years of snowstorms, seaside ports, and alcohol in his jacket, with the scent of fireplaces, frostbitten wood, and old clothes knitted into his scarf. This man is everywhere and nowhere all at once, so much so that it's almost overwhelming at times. But if you care enough to keep peeling off the layers - if you are fortunate enough for him to let you wash away the dirt and reach the core of his very being. It's the slightest hint of a book with worn-out pages, and a breath of fresh air...

Background
Erikk grew up in a small mountain village on the side of Mt. Blackburn in Alaska. Since he was a little boy, he dreamt of becoming a pilot and travelling the world like the adventurers in Jules Verne's famous novels.

The Einhertt- and Snowstraup families were close friends long before Erikk was born, so he has known Emily for as long as he can remember. He loved her like a sister from day one, and would spend most of his time trying to make her laugh, often at the expense of his own popularity among the adults. When he was not dragged around his father’s museum or spoiling Emily’s courses, Erikk spent his days reading in the attic, dreaming himself away to a world of adventure.

As the years went by, the duo turned into a trio, and Erikk proudly took Baron under his scrawny wings. While Erikk poured his heart and soul into the group, his father wasn’t exactly thrilled. Born into a family of historians, Erikk's father wanted his son to strive for more than a life of chasing legends. When Erikk turned 16, his father signed him up for The Arctic Academy of History, but Erikk had other plans. In the middle of the night, he snuck aboard a small exploration ship, the Dawn Rider, and hid among the cargo. The Captain eventually found him and took him in to work as a cabin boy on the ship.

Through the years, Erikk would work his way through various ranks in the crew, ranging from endless night shifts by the radio to washing dishes until his fingers nearly dissolved. He piloted his first longboat at 18, which ended quite quickly in a crash that granted him the pleasure of scrubbing toilets for a full month. Despite that, he had become quite fond of flying, and managed to convince the Captain to let him try again. Despite the occasional mishap, Erikk showed flair for piloting, and at the age of 21 he officially became the Dawn Rider’s docking pilot. At this point, Erikk had stopped questioning his Captain’s odd request to never allow the Dawn Rider to dock. Instead, he would escort the crew in longboats to the ports, and back home to the ship before dawn. Nights upon nights of passing time in various ports until the crew gathered what they needed, resulted in a number of drunken episodes, as well as the occasional one-night-stand. He picked up stories in the bars and lovers at the docks, to a point where he could sing love-stock shanties in his sleep.

Two years later, the Dawn Rider went down in roaring flames. The attackers vanished without a trace, and the public was led to believe the incident left no survivors. Emily and Erikk both wished to forget the horrible loss, and had no intention correcting the public statement. After the incident, Erikk started to wear a headband at all times, the reason for this a mystery to everyone but himself. In a manic attempt to keep control of his life, Erikk soon bought what would later become the Valiant from a ship cemetery in the Southern Sea. He and Emily spent the better half of a year fixing the ship, and eventually reunited with Baron after nearly 10 years apart.

Over the course of three years, the Valiant served under a small freight forwarder, transporting minor cargo between ports. Through that time, the Valiant crew grew into a found family of misfits and adventurers of all shapes and sizes, and Erikk took great pride in each and everyone of them. Then he lost his license in 095…

Whatever happened that fateful day, Erikk would never tell the crew. All they ever got was a half-hearted explanation of opposing opinions and a strict order to turn the ship around and fly back to Alaska. With no company and no license to sail under, the crew balanced on the brink of disaster for the years to follow. For a while, Erikk did everything in his power to get a new license, but his title as a pirate had already caught on to the public, making it almost impossible to get a second chance. Despite the crew’s attempts to get him to sail again, Erikk refused to leave Alaska.

Until a passenger showed up with an offer he could not refuse...