Grandfather Thunder (CTL)

Grandfather Thunder, born as Juozapas Tirva, is the King of Eternal Summer of the Freehold of Miami.

Biography
"I’m very sorry you feel that way. Perhaps we can find an… alternative way to resolve your grievance."

A longshoreman named Juozapas Tirva was one of the people reported missing and never found after the 1926 hurricane. When the howling storm reached its peak, the Lithuanian immigrant was speared by a lance of white lightning, wielded by a laughing giant made of wind and rain. Juozapas was not seen again for nearly a decade, and when he returned, he was a different man. The storm lived in him, and he in it; during Miami’s notoriously bad thunderstorms, he would often walk the piers alone, drinking in the fury. Some said he actually missed his captivity, and longed to return to the endless maelstrom of his Keeper’s palace. Others said the stubborn old bastard was after revenge, and that he walked those docks screaming his Keeper’s name until he was hoarse, a cold iron hammer clutched under his coat.

Even without a unified Court structure in Miami, Thunder quickly rose to prominence. He had a reputation for being able to solve other people’s problems, usually in a forceful, even brutally direct fashion. Within a month of his return, he had tracked down his fetch and beaten it to death with a claw hammer, and rumors circulated in those days that he had even beaten down an exiled Fae. When Tom Hood arrived with his knowledge of the Courts, Thunder (already called Grandfather by then) readily swore to the Iron Spear and spent the next decades building his power base.

Grandfather Thunder may well be the oldest and most personally powerful changeling in Miami. Certainly he is the most temporally powerful, and the oldest changeling known to be active. Already a respected figure in Miami even before Tom Hood returned from Europe, Grandfather Thunder was initially a strong supporter of the seasonal Court. It was only as the years wore on, and the respect and awe he’d held in the days before the freehold of Miami lessened, that he began to grow discontent with his lot. The coup came as a brutal shock to the entire city, and it was in large part that shock that allowed him to seize control so completely. Now he just has to hold it.

Appearance
He is a wiry, imposing man who looks to be in his late 60s. He has long since shed his image  as  a  rough-around-the-edges  dockyard  worker, trading in oilskins and steel-toed boots for tailored suits and Italian leather shoes. He tends to dress in dark colors with a single, striking accent — a charcoal suit with a sky-blue tie, for example. In his mortal mien, he has a thin fringe of gray hair and a deeply lined face with dark brown eyes.

His fae guise is similar, but his hair deepens to the bruised black of a thundercloud, and lightning flashes in the deeps of his eyes. A phantom smell of ozone surrounds him, and the fiery crown of Summer hovers over his head. Whenever Grandfather Thunder enters a room, the temperature seems to rise by several degrees — perceptible even to ordinary mortals, as his powerful Wyrd cannot be entirely contained by the Mask. When he grows angry or is in the presence of sufficient wrath, a faint halo of St. Elmo’s Fire flickers around him, leaking through the Mask as well.

Character Sheet
Gradfather Thunder

Seeming: Elemental

Kith: Fireheart

Court: Summer

Entitlements: None

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 6, Wits 3, Resolve 4

Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2

Social Attributes: Presence 5, Manipulation 6, Composure 4

Mental Skills: Academics 3, Investigation 3, Occult (Fae) 4, Politics 5

Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl (Thundering Fists) 3, Weaponry (Hammers) 4

Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression (Oratory) 5, Intimidation 4, Persuasion 6, Streetwise 2

Merits: Danger Sense 2, Eidetic Memory 2, Fast Reflexes 2, Iron Stamina 2, Allies (Local Government) 2, Contacts (Occult, Changeling Society, Neighboring Freeholds) 3, Inspiring 4, Resources 4, Retainer 5, Status (Freehold) 5, Harvest 4, Hollow 13 (Size 4, Amenities 5, Wards 4), Mantle (includes Crown) 5

Willpower: 8

Clarity: 4

Virtue: Fortitude

Vice: Wrath

Initiative: 7

Defense: 3

Speed: 11

Health: 7

Wyrd: 7

Contracts: Hearth 2; Elements 5 (Thunderstorm), Vainglory 2; Fleeting Summer 3, Eternal Summer 3

Pledges - Commendation (liege for all sworn changelings of the City of Endless Summer), The Knight’s Oath (liege for all sworn knights), Good Neighbors Pact (Jeremiah Sleet), Glamour/per turn: 20/7

Frailties - Cannot sleep in a room without at least one open window (minor taboo), pained by skin contact with copper (minor bane).