Shimali Manux

Shimali Manux

(Person)

Titles

Admiral

Alignment

Neutral good

Ancestry/Species

Aiuvarin

Class

Swashbuckler

Gender

Female

Homeland

Vidrian

Organization

Firebrands, Salt Breakers

Images of Shimali Manux

Source: Lost Omens Legends, pg(s). 96

Shimali Manux is the admiral of the Vidric Navy, and a co-founder and prominent figurehead of the Firebrands.

Relatives

Shimali is the daughter of a Sargavan spice trader and his Ekujae guide and translator. She has a younger fraternal twin sister, Vulmia. Nobody knows each sister's mind like the other does, which has led to two kidnapping attempts on Vulmia. The Firebrands easily dealt with both, and the sisters laugh them off for the time being.

Associates

Shimali's first mate, Esidries has been with her since their days as Salt Breakers in the Fire Cart Uprising, Shimali's paramour is a former rival, Devris Arlos, captain of the Nightwave, on which her sister Vulmia serves. She maintains frequent contact with Avarneus, a member of Vidrian's ruling council.

Shimali has been gathering allies for Vidrian by visiting as many ports as possible and asking for aid. She has been warmly welcomed in Andoran, Absalom, Osirion, and Ravounel. She admires Wynsal Starborn—who shares her love for justice and discomfort for having to take up politics—for recognising Vidrian when it was vulnerable, and seeks to repay him in kind. In conservative nations that distrust revolutionaries like Qadira and Taldor, Shimali lays the groundwork for future foreign relations by finding allies and fixers in their courts.

Since she arrived in Ravounel and co-founded the Firebrands alongside the Silver Ravens, Shimali has counted its leader Shensen as a good friend, while her fleet transports the Sapphire Butterfly from crisis point to crisis point. Most Firebrands look up to Shimali as a co-founder and figurehead, and she recognises her value as a legend for Firebrand recruiters.

Shimali is concerned that it is only a matter of time until Abrogail Thrune II, who will never recognise Vidrian's independence, turns her fleet south to reclaim Sargava. Her support of Ravounel, the Firebrands, and the Bellflower Network has kept Cheliax busy for now.

Shimali has run afoul of Tessa Fairwind several times, ever since the former stole the latter's future flagship, the Umbral Spark. However, all of their engagements have ended inconclusively as a result of misfortune or magical chicanery. It is said that the two have developed a grudging respect, as many Free Captains have found fame aiding the Firebrands.

Recently, two of Shimali's lieutenants were assassinated in Anthusis by Ekujae, as indicated by the broken thistle arrow shaft left behind. She refuses to believe that the elves are actually responsible, and seeks investigators to solve the mystery on her behalf.

Background

Shimali Manux leads Firebrands in combat.

Shimali and Vulmia Manux spent their childhoods in the circles of both parents, learning tables, tide charts, and jungle lore alike. When old enough, they went to sea, but as soon as they returned, their ship was burnt to the waterline for failing to bribe a Free Captain, while they learnt that their father was blamed for missing funds and hanged, and the government did nothing when Aspis Consortium loggers demolished their mother's village. Becoming determined to overthrow the settler state, Shimali and Vulmia assembled a ragtag resistance, simultaneously striking at multiple ports, stealing ships, and hiding with the Ekujae in the jungle when necessary.

As the colonial regime was brought down, Shimali started preparing for when the Free Captains, outraged at the loss of Sargava's tributes, would inevitably come knocking. With the help of Senghor, Shimali's stolen fleet eventually defeated the Free Captains and cemented Vidrian's independence.