Garvnak Grimsnarl

Garvnak was born on Ocean Spire to a family of four. When he was five, the volcano erupted and he lost his home. He and his father managed to escape, while the rest of their family perished. The two spent months at sea with the rest of the survivors on the ship, looking for a new home but being turned away at nearly every stop for the fear that they were cursed. His father became cruel, warped by the events of the night, and decided that Garvnak needed to be the same. He punished Garvnak every time he showed sadness over the event, and rewarded him for aggression and anger. Garvnak grew to be just as impatient and short-fused as his father. He resented those who turned them away in their time of need, and grew to have a strong distrust for anyone who didn’t look or live like he did. Eventually the ship came to a stop at Harbor Village. They lived relatively quiet lives for a time, but when Garvnak was in his 20s, his father was killed by a group of sailors, and he had no family left. Though he managed to find and take down one of the sailors, he left it there because he concluded his father probably did something to deserve it. Tired of the island, he hitched a ride on ships from island to island until he eventually landed on the Island of the Deserters. Sometime before he turned 30, though it seems no one can agree on exactly when it happened, Garvnak was sitting in a tavern eating a meal when a Goliath man and a green Aarakocra approached him. It was a busy night, and they demanded he move so they and their other men could sit at his table. Garvnak, not one to be pushed around, refused. The Goliath demanded he move again, leaning on the table and threatening him in the process. Garvnak had his knife between the Goliath’s fingers in the blink of an eye, a clear sign he would not move, and a warning he better back off. Though the Aarakocra was furious, the Goliath was impressed. The rest of the crew joined Garvnak at his table, and they left with him as one of their own.   Garvnak was brought on as Captain Tobe Namedlater’s Second Mate. Unlike Quartermaster M-13 and the other Mates, Garvnak didn’t have any jobs other than keeping an eye on the crew when no one else was around, as well as ensuring everyone was doing their jobs. As this was his only task, he would enforce the rules with extreme prejudice. One day someone compared him to a babysitter, which made him livid. He resented his otherwise lack of authority and that day made it known to everyone. Because this was his only job, and he hated the nickname that much, he earned Princess’s nickname of Big Red Babysitter.   Garvnak took the captain’s side during the mutiny. He fought hard, but suffered many stab wounds and a slashing across his face that left a nasty scar running down his lips. With how badly he was injured, many assumed he would have died, but lo and behold, he managed to cling onto life and survived.   Rumor had it he always wanted to be a captain himself, and, despite his apparent sworn loyalty to the captain, some even believed he would have staged his own mutiny one day...