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| Xavier el Rabioso; pen and ink on paper. When I took it upon myself to do the pirate JAM, I thought it was going to be difficult. I've never drawn a pirate before and I always try to find some way of making a cliche'd idea or technique fresh (like with the Midsummer Night's Dream drawings). I always wondered how a real pirate survived in his world since most of his men were probably shanghaid and working for him against their will. So, the first thing that popped into my head was this image. I made him look like me since what got the inspirational juices flowing was the questionare I filled out that gives you your pirate name. Not only did it inspire this drawing but a background story as well. Here it is: He's the ilegitemate son of a spanish buckaneer who went by the name of "Jaime Mano de Plomo" (a rough translation of "Iron James Kidd"- the name given me by the quiz) and Ixtel, a young Maya woman. After only one night with Ixtel, Mano de Plomo fell madly in love and spent the rest of his counted days sailing along the coast of Central America fending off any invading ships He became such a threat to missionaries and conquistadores that the king of Spain himself put a bounty on his head. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before the spanish armada came after them, Mano de Plomo's men mutinied and turned him in for the bounty. His wife and son, along with any tribespeople who refused to be converted to christianity, were taken to Europe and sold as slaves (this was during the early part of the 16th century; before slavery became illegal overseas). Ixtel and her son were sold to a spanish lord who used his mission to convert them as an excuse to force his belief on them as well as himself on Ixtel. At the age of thirteen Ixtel's son, now given the christian name Xavier, stumbled on the lord of the hacienda having his way with his mother. Filled with rage, Xavier killed the master and fled with his mother. Hunted through the spanish countryside, they made their way to the shore and stowed away on a ship headed for the new world. The ship was attacked by (you guessed it) pirates and Xavier was once of the few taken prissoners. Ixtel, however, was killed during the attack while her son watched. This maddened the boy and the pirates were forced to keep him in chains along with the rest of the captain's dogs. The dogs didn't last long next to the feroceous boy and, to everyone's amazement, the captain actually kept the boy alive. It wasn't until Xavier saved the captain's life during a mutiny attempt that the captain removed the chains and stopped treating the boy like a pet. Instead, he taught Xavier where every piece of silver and gold he had accumulated was hidden. |
| It was during a second mutiny attempt that Xavier lost his left eye to the point of a blade. The mutiny was thwarted but the captain would not survive the wounds he recieved. Knowing full well that another mutiny would be imminent, Xavier killed all but three men on the ship in their sleep and headed for the new world. Their trip was one way and the three survivors were fed the remains of their former comrads when rations were depleted. Upon his arrival to the Americas, Xavier was shocked to find it completely colonized by the spaniards. In order to avoid capture, he killed the three survivors and snuck his way into the populace. Using the knowledge of his former captain's loot, he quickly asembled a new crew made up mostly of mestizos. His former ship was found, however, and word quickly spread of the new scourge of the seven seas, Xavier el Rabioso (Xavier the Furious) and of the maps he had left behind. El Rabioso now waits for someone either bold or stupid enough to hunt down one of his treasures so that he may claim it, along with their lives. However, his past experiences have made him leery of his crew and he is an insomniac. He spends his nights facing his cabin door with a pistol in one hand and a book in the other. |