"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." - Edgar Allen Poe

I cannot begin to express my utter disgust at the state of affairs within the household of the "Clockwork Sun". The Captain has allowed the antics of a certain Alixandre Huddleston to continue for far too long, and as a result, I have been the one to suffer. Just this morning prior to the breakfast bell, it was Alixandre's job to check the rigging of the port-side balloon, as we had a terrible sky storm below us last night and it likely came loose. So, instead he glances over it and heads to breakfast without checking it. I happened to noticed this and had a look myself and found that half of the lower side rigging was almost rotted away and black as tar. At the risk of missing the meager portion of breakfast I would have been allocated, I replaced the rigging, on his behalf, to find that upon my return he had eaten my breakfast portion. I would have been in my right mind to give him a sound thrashing there and then, however Captain requested my company in her quarters.

I should have known then that it would not be for a good cause. The wrench I had lent to Alixandre two evenings previous had been left on the side of the engine and had almost fallen between the gears. Vivian had rescued it thankfully, but was resting in the doctors quarters with a broken hand. I know all too well how that feels. My anger toward Alixandre at that point was insurmountable, and I left the Captain in her quarters set on locating Alixandre, prepared to thrown his over the side of the ship to the clouds and smog below. I found him idly passing conversation with Wilhelmina in the Navigators seat behind the steering device I had created and Installed three months past. I called him to face me, but his response only preceded to anger me further, for he waved me away and laughed with Wilhelmina as I remained.

I cannot be held accountable for my actions, for he had taunted me too much, though the Captain has docked me a weeks wages for leaving him with bones to be reset. I maintain that Alixandre needed to be fought, for his ego was inflated and in the way of his work. I did not tell her of the work extra to my own that I have taken on that he should have done. I shall keep that to myself until such a time that it will be of advantage to me. I do not mind a few scrapes and bruises up to that point. However, should Alixandre cross my path in such a manner again, he will surely feel the cold metal of my hands around his throat. I can only wish that he remains well distanced from Ophelia on the morrow, for we are to be docking at her city once more, and I do so long to see her, even if she seems to despise me. I cannot be left in the company of her Hand Maid, Sarah. She surely is the most dull and unimaginative woman alive, and surely foul faced for a woman. I wish she would leave and never return, despite her whimsical attempt to understand me. Nobody ever will.

Evening has fallen now and the candles have been lit to conserve energy until the morrow when we dock, for we shall be able to refill our water tankers. I am not at liberty to discuss the Captains plans but I feel what she deems to be a worthy investment something that shall undoubtedly lead to the fall of many. I am sure of that cad, Alixandre, being the root cause of suggesting this obviously futile agreement, and pity the Captain for believing it to work. I am to retire now for early morning watch starts a little after 4, and I shall need a sharp eye, though I know what awaits me after I close my eyes, the horror of that nightmare. I would pray for the images of the broken body of her in the blue dress be taken from me, but there is nobody and nothing I dare pray to. I only hope that it will not return.

Jack Gabriel Byron is aged around 23 years of age though appears a couple of years older by the darkness of his appearance. He has dark grey eyes, though one is almost blind due to a tiny piece of shrapnel that is wedged inside of it. He is due to have this replaced with either a glass eye or a mechanical robot eye by the Doctor.  He stands about 6 feet tall, with a slight muscle to his body, but nothing extreme. With his clothes on, the muscle definition is hidden and he looks like a regular guy. He has very pale skin, almost white in tone. He has a square-ish shaped face with a strong jaw and prominent nose. He has a birthmark on the back of his neck in the shape of a bird with its wings outstretched, and a mole on his left buttock. He has a tattoo on his chest of a gear, the symbol of pirates serving upon the "Clockwork Sun", and a small line of words along his lower back which quote Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven". He has thick, brown-black hair that falls to his shoulders, with a slight wave at the bottom. He sweeps it across his face from the right side to the left, often leaving it down. Occasionally he will tie it back however.

He is in generally good health though he shows signs of a deep set cough that seems to appear more prominent when he is within a city. Physically his left arm from the elbow down is mechanical, as is his right hand and foot. These limbs were lost working with machinery, and the metal used in the mechanics is a form of copper.

His favorite colors are black and brown, and his least favorite is blue. He find black and brown are practical colors for working upon the airship, but blue reminds him of a recurring dream that he often wakes from in a cold sweat. Musically, he listens to classical music such as Bach or Beethoven. He finds the melodies relax him. He rarely reads, as materials are hard to come by, but he states that his favorite work is that of Edgar Allen Poe, hence the tattoo. He dislikes more current literature however.

Jacks greatest fear is of falling from the ship mid-flight. He is not sure what is below the flying cities, but has heard tale of there being a poisonous smog that devours a person within seconds before killing them.  As a child, this led him to have nightmares about a smog-monster that would have sharp teeth and glowing eyes, wearing an evil grin as it swallowed people whole. This image still haunts him, though he is aware of there being no such thing. He considered the worst thing that could happen to him would be to lose the captain and the doctor, or to be turned away from service upon the ship. He is aware that he has violent tendencies which have put him close to this, and now makes a conscious effort to keep the violence to a minimum. If the captain were to be arrested, die or overthrown in mutiny, this would not bode wall for him, as he would remain true to her despite what would happen. Confronted with this, the ship would fall under another’s command, most probably Alixandre's, and he would not be able to retain a position of employment and would have to leave the ship immediately, as he cannot bare the thought of this.

Jack is an introverted individual, who rarely makes niceties with others. He will only smile when in the company of the captain or the doctor, and will often threaten people who annoy him, or if he is feeling moody. He is not afraid to fight and will often cause trouble with Alixandre, arguing and fighting at least once a day. The two often threaten to kill each other, and if needed, Jack would not hesitate to kill him, though he is aware that the consequences of this would get him thrown off the ship. He likes darkness, and will refuse to light a candle even if it is needed. He gathers strength by believing in his difference to the others, often drawing power from disturbing images in his mind. He does not share these thoughts with anyone as he knows this would get him locked up in an asylum. His greatest weakness however, is his emotions, as they tend to be raw and untrained. He shows affection in a strange way, often leaving people terrified. Similarly, he will show negative emotions violently, leaving people either terrified of him or ready to fight him. He otherwise remains more or less neutral though broody. It is obvious he has a soft spot for the captain and the doctor, and if someone were to threaten their lives in order to get him to comply with their ways, he would agree, but only to save them. If the other party’s word was broken and their lives were in danger or ended anyway, he would not hesitate in killing them. Additionally, Jack is generally pessimistic, as he does not believe that good things happen often, even less to those living his lifestyle.

Jack does not smoke though is often found with some form of gin or whiskey nearby. He carries a hip flask which contains one of these whenever he is due off ship. He frequents men’s clubs, enjoying gambling in a game of cards, and is particularly well versed in the rules of most games. He often wins and though they are his personal wins, he will share his winnings with the Captain and the Doctor but not with the others. He feels this repays them for allowing him to remain upon the ship, and for the medical care the Doctor administers. He is a violin player, though he has not taken any lessons so pretty much makes it up as he goes along. He will attempt to play along with violin music records he has collected when they play over the captain’s gramophone, though this isn't often. He more often than not will be found either working hard or hiding away from the others, drawing or working on his mechanical pet projects. These projects range from mechanical animals to intricate guns, or even methods of capturing natural resources - such as lightning -  to use them to power the ship.

He is unaware of his hometown or of his true family, as he can only recall ever being on the ship. He knows the Captain is not his mother, nor the Doctor his father, as they have told him as much. He is aware that it is impossible for them to ever have children, but still sees them as his parents. He does however, have a frequent dream of a great glass city, captured within a dome. The inventions that are seen there excite and confuse him as they are mechanical feats of genius, the likes of which he has never seen in his life time. These sights within the dreams are what push him to conduct his projects. In this dream, he is aware of a house of golden colored brick on a main street, with a small garden, and a mechanical dog. However, he cannot recall more than this. His childhood was rough but fair, and he is the longest working crewmember other than the Captain. His first memory is of watching an older crew man, one who he cannot remember the name of, falling from the rigging of the air balloon attached to the Bowsprit. He remembers this simply because he was caught under the falling man, and in the event his arm was crushed, leading to him having a mechanical arm. The falling man died.

As per the Captain, he is not religious. Neither of them sees the point of believing in a single creator of the wide universe, and though the Captain believes there is something after death, Jack does not. He is of the belief that once you die, your spirit does not remain, or that there is an after life. However, occasionally, in a drunken frame of mind, he will wonder if there is a God, and if he will be punished when he dies for leading a "heathen" life. However, he usually passes out before he can begin to worry more about this.

His role on the ship is a general role, and he will take any job that is left unattended while there are specific roles for the others. He aims to one day have saved enough to buy a house in one of the cities, despite his coughing, where he will be able to continue with his projects, even open his own laboratory where he can experiment with up-to-date discoveries, of which he finds fascinating.  However, the life he leads shows no sign of this occurring as finances are hard pushed between the crew.

Jack's priorities in order of importance are to repay the captain and the doctor for their kindness, to be known as a great inventor, to be able to marry Ophelia, and to discover where he came from. In the past, he has on many occasions shown a violent nature as mentioned above, and this has caused a lot of trouble for him. However, the one past experience that he would rather forget would be when he was around the age of 16. He had been in one of the cities with the captain, and their business had taken longer than expected, so they had decided to take a room in an inn. The pair had been taken to the room, and after the keeper had left, the captain had told jack to wait outside while she bathed. He agreed, but becoming bored had wandered away from the room to the bar. He had drunk a little, and feeling tired had decided to return to the room to sleep. He entered a room which he thought to be where the captain was and climbed into the bed. However, seconds later a woman was screaming at him to get out, and he realized he had entered the wrong room. The woman’s husband had woken and fetched a pistol and was shaking it toward him, threatening to shoot him for "raping" his wife, when the captain had come to the rescue and begged the couple to forgive him, as he was of poor mind. Thankfully the couple had forgiven him eventually, but to this day, if the captain has to leave for business, she will not risk taking a room in case it happens again. The story often comes up when the captain gets drunk, angering Jack.


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Above is the profile of my (probable) main character for NaNoWriMo 2008. He is generally a very violent person and having lived with him in my head for the last week-ish, I've noticed that he showed emotions by hurting someone physically, will often smile when in the presence of some kind of weapon, and will offer a solution by suggesting that the problem be killed. Or burnt. Or both.