Captain Ha’Tallis
(ha-TAL-lis)

Race: Bastetti
Role: Captain of the Copper Horizon

There is a rule on the Copper Horizon that is not written down anywhere but is understood by every person who has ever set foot on her deck: the Captain is called Captain. Not Ha’Tallis. Not just Captain Ha’Tallis if you’re feeling formal. Captain. He has earned the title and the respect that goes with it, and his crew will make that point on his behalf before he ever has to make it himself.

Ha’Tallis is a tall male Bastetti with sleek dark fur patterned with streaks of orange and white — tortoiseshell coloring that makes him immediately recognizable on any dock in any port. The white patch over his right eye is distinctive even at a distance. His green eyes are always moving, taking in everything at once with the unhurried watchfulness of a predator that has never needed to rush. He wears a purple bandana over his ears and the top of his head, goes barefoot as is typical of his kind, and carries at his side a distinctive blade — wide in the center, tapering to a point, sharp on both edges, designed for slashing rather than stabbing — that he handles with the casual ease of a man who has never once had to think about it.

He has captained the Copper Horizon for fifteen years. She is not just his livelihood — she is his home, his identity, and in many ways his life’s work. He runs an honest ship, demands respect without cruelty, and has built a crew that functions less like an employer and employees and more like something closer to a family. When he addresses them before something dangerous, they listen — not because they have to, but because he has never once led them wrong.

He is a good man. That reputation preceded him even before Sabrael and Narina set foot on his gangplank.

Interesting Facts:

• When Gorrell corrected Narina for referring to him simply as “Ha’Tallis,” Ha’Tallis himself said nothing. He didn’t need to. That’s the kind of captain he is.
• The Copper Horizon has been his home for fifteen years. What he would do without her is not something he allows himself to think about for long.