Oops, ran out of room there. Here is the actual background, so far (up to 15 years ago):
[sblock= Flynn's story, Part 1: "The curse of the Aztec Queen"]
History: Flynn was born in a small fishing village in northern Ireland. Most of the villagers earned their living from the sea- Flynn was helping on his parents’ fishing boat almost before he could walk. Recruiters for the Royal Navy visited the village fairly often, and it was no surprise that Flynn shipped to sea as a powder monkey at the age of eight. From the first, he was clever and good with his hands- in a short time he was tasked as an assistant to the ship’s surgeon, a half-drunk ex-Jesuit. By 12, he was a full-fledged apprentice, and he left the Navy for good at 15, when his mentor mustered out. Master and student spent 4 more years on a variety of merchant and explorer vessels, until old ‘Father’ Callahan passed away.
By twenty, Flynn was acting Second Surgeon for an expedition deep into the jungles of the Yucatan, in search of a legendary ‘Lost’ elven city. They found far more than they bargained for- most of the expedition was wiped out by savage elves that seemed to appear from thin air; Flynn and a few others were captured. Even after torture, Flynn, a budding Casanova, attracted the attention of the eladrin queen; over the course of months leading to a planned mass ritual sacrifice, Flynn and E’Suvarion fell deeply in love. At the very last, the queen botched the finale of the ritual, returning Flynn’s heart to his chest. “As your heart bleeds, you will remember me, and I will remember you- FOREVER,” she sang, sealing what had been a gaping hole in his chest- though it left a burned brand in the shape of her slender hand. The failed ritual bound their two life-forces together, but it was a disaster for the eladrin, as the city and all its inhabitants faded into the Feywild, probably forever. Flynn (horribly scarred) and a few others were left alone in the jungle and barely escaped to be picked up by a merchant ship making a stop to take on fresh water.
After recovery, Flynn returned to his work, serving as surgeon aboard a succession of ships- it was during this time that he began to seek solace in a bottle. After a few years he found himself back in Ireland, in the port city of Belfast. Seeking some extra money, he began teaching a young Halfling ‘nobleman’ (Sir D’Arcy Hailstone-Millstone) the basics of surgery and medicine. It didn’t take long for Flynn to be back at sea as part of the budding naturalist’s entourage- and it didn’t take long for the group to run into trouble on a jungle island. It took even less time for the expedition to disintegrate when D’Arcy abandoned them to save his own skin- but by then Flynn was glad to get away from the disturbing little fellow.
Five more years passed- by then Flynn had begun to notice that he had aged hardly at all since that fateful day in the jungle- but the pain, and the memories, were still as fresh as if it had been yesterday. Whiskey helped, and Flynn was still a gambler and a Casanova of nearly legendary appetite- though no other woman could compare to his lost eladrin lover. After a terrible storm sunk his ship, Flynn found himself adrift with a few others in a small boat- they were soon ‘rescued’ by a passing vessel, the Heart of the Seas, captained by the pirate Blackheart (who was actually looking for a few new crewmen- and as luck would have it, a new surgeon).
That was twenty-five years ago- and since then, Flynn has considered himself a pirate, rather than a regular sailor. He served on Blackheart’s crew for 5 years, and was there when the pirate captain took an exotic ‘princess’ as his own. Though it pains him to this day, Flynn was also the ship’s surgeon who failed as a midwife- and though he would never admit it, he feels that Inka’s death was at least partially his fault. He stayed aboard the ship for two more years, though alcohol and guilt made the time blur.
After another storm, the ship was desperate for supplies- desperate enough for Blackheart to make port on an island held by the English; he hoped to resupply and get away before any English ships could reach the island to capture him. While Blackheart and the Heart of the seas did manage to escape, it was a close call- and several of his crew were left behind, including Flynn (who was found by the English soldiers, lying in a drunken stupor on a tavern floor). Without any hard evidence, the local judge wouldn’t sentence the men to hang, but they were branded as pirates and imprisoned. Two days later, the entire group escaped, led by Flynn- it was during the course of the escape that he earned the nickname he wears to this day; what was planned as a small fire for a distraction accidentally reached the fort’s powder magazine- part of the town was leveled and several British ships in the harbor were set ablaze, including nearly new warship which burned to the waterline. After the escape, Flynn sailed a pirate for a few more years- though never again did he cross paths with Blackheart…
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