Character Profile:
Name: Meriden Cummings
Age: 18, going on 19
Hair Color: Auburn
Eye Color: Green
Closest Mates: Matthew Kettlesworth, Rupert Railing
Courting: Gregory Wilson
Personality: Hot-headed, sharp-tongued, protective, caring
Likes:
The high-seas. Ever since she was a small child, Meriden dreamed of sailing the high-seas, as her father and great-grandfather once had. In her heart, despite the dangers, it is her true home.
Carpentry. Meriden learned carpentry from her father, who learned it from his father, who learned it from his step-father. But Meriden also has a natural gift when it comes to wood work. This is because she can feel the wood’s emotions, such as if it was crafted with love or writhing in pain from damage.
Children. Out of all the people in Meriden’s village, she finds the children the least judgmental about her status and behavior. Perhaps it’s because she weaves amazing adventures and teaches them how to sword fight. In any case, Meriden cares for them as if they were family, even though they are not her own.
Dislikes:
Blake Baker. The man responsible for the disappearance of her father. She would never forgive him for treachery. But when she learns that Baker actually murdered her father, was responsible for Gregory’s kidnapping, and is now pursuing her, revenge slowly consumes her heart to the point of no return.
Disrespect. Don’t show any disrespect for this girl or her friends. Meriden has a very short temper for such things, and one might find a blade whizzing past their ear if you get on her wrong side.
Favorite Scene: My rage unleashed by his final words, I grabbed my knife from my belt, spun on my heel, and hurled the blade toward Scrapper’s head. While his violet eyes widened, several crewmen ducked out of the way of the flying object as it skimmed Scrapper’s ear and sunk itself into the foremast.
“Would anyone else like to comment?” I spat, my breathing rapid. There was nothing but complete silence in reply. “Good! If anyone on this ship crosses me again, I’ll aim lower. Much lower. Do I make myself clear?”
Her family name tainted by her great-grandfather’s crimes of piracy, Meriden Cummings is far from the typical 18th century woman. A social outcast, she works in a carpentry shop in a small village, where the people barely tolerate unconventional behavior.
However, her life takes a turn after a gang of pirates attack her village and her blood reveals an ancient map adorned with Mayan glyphs leading to Death Island. An island legends say is ruled by the Mayan god of the underworld, Ah Puch. Her great-grandfather had sought after the island before he vanished without a trace. Now, Meriden is about to journey across the sea to understand her family history.
There are only a few problems: her growing feelings toward a mysterious stranger linked to her great-grandfather’s past; a greedy band of pirates after her great-grandfather’s legendary treasure; and a contract she has unwittingly signed in blood with Ah Puch himself.
Kelsey Ketch 