Charby

Charby in his Vampirate outfit.

Charby is the title character of the comic. He is an Elite vampire, and a former pirate. He has large red eyes, a permanent cowlick that makes his hair look either like bat ears or devilish horns, and has a penchant for black capes and coats with flowing tendrils near the bottom that tend to curl with his expressions. He's a tad bit on the egotistical side, and enjoys flirting with pretty ladies (he says he likes blondes!) His stature is a thorn in his side since he looks like a child but is really 358 years old, and he will over react to any mention of pirates or anyone calling him a "monster". He is a bit of a hypocrite in this regard, but woe be to anyone that tells him this!

Charby likes to think that he's better than an average vampire because he eats people who "deserve it". Who "deserves" it varies depending on his mood however. While he revels in killing and eating someone who has done him wrong or displayed behavior he dislikes, he has been shown to both tolerate these people on occasion and eat an innocent person on others, so it doesn't seem that his rules are set in stone!

Backstory

Charby was raised by pirates, or more specifically the pirate Captain Robert Black, known to his enemies as "Blackheart". Captain Black raised Charby as his son, giving him an education, but because Black was a cruel and unsentimental man, Charby was also as a slave. Charby was beaten by the crew and his father figure the captain in order to toughen him up; for Black, in his twisted mind, had hoped Charby would inherit his ship one day.

On the day of Charby's eighth birthday, the Jolly Robert landed on an unfamiliar shore, and the pirates celebrated. Charby found this a perfect opportunity to escape the pirates once and for all, and when the pirates slept off their celebratory drunkenness Charby stole a boat and headed for the shores. When he got to solid ground it wasn't long before he was captured. Not by the pirates, but by an Ancient vampire named Quixoto. Quixoto tried to get Charby to speak with him briefly but found his dumb-stricken silence annoying and decided that he'd make a better meal than conversation. Charby didn't stand a chance, and his life as a pirate ended in the vampire's jaws.

The next night Charby awoke to find himself in a bear's den littered with various animal bones. He had a moment to examine himself to confirm that he was alive, or at least so it seemed...but he had pointy teeth and pointy hair now.

After a brief fight with the bear who owned the cave, he realized that he wasn't just "still alive", it seemed he had some sort of super powers, one of which seemed to be teleportation. His first thought of course, was revenge on his former tormentors, the pirates.

Charby then returned to the ship, donned the Jolly Robert's flag, and took a pair of hooks. After a rip-roaring rampage of revenge, he finally confronted the Captain. Believing Charby to be possessed, Black revealed his plan to make Charby the greatest pirate ever in a weak attempt to get him to spare his life. As it turns out, this was merely a diversion as Black then stabs Charby through the heart with his sword. Charby does not die, but is most upset about the puncture in his lucky shirt, and lays into Black. But in a shattered mirror he catches a glimpse of his monstrous visage and falters, and Black takes the opportunity to get the upper hand on Charby once more.

Charby takes advantage of his new teleportation power to escape being sliced in half by Black's sword, and appears behind him. Charby gouges his eyes out with the hooks and falls to the floor feeling weak, thinking that he is dying from the stab wound Black had administered earlier. As it turned out, the pain he was feeling was hunger. At first he is horrified by the idea but then he relents. Charby is afraid of Black coming back to life if he killed the captain the way Quixoto killed him, so he puts the captain out of his misery first by decapitating him, and drinking the blood out of his neck.

Charby developed an intense fear of the forest for Quixoto lurked in those woods, and he did not wish to meet him again. So he stayed on the ship, sleeping in the lower quarters during the day for fear of the sun, until disrepair and bad weather capsized it one night, forcing him to find shelter on land. He took some salvaged wood from the wreckage and built a small shelter in a shallow cave. He lived there up until settlers started moving into the area.

Charby's abilities

Charby has many abilities that stem from his being an Elite and a vampire. Some of these traits are unique to Elites.

• He can teleport, but at the beginning of the comic it is only up to 100 feet and only twice or else he becomes weak. Later it is revealed that this is because he puts too much effort into a simple task.
• Regeneration. All Elites have the ability to heal wounds, regrow limbs or even entire bodies if it is destroyed by borrowing energy. Severed parts that are not absorbed may attempt to grow an Elite's body back, but without a brain and heart it cannot become an entire Elite like a clone.
• Shape-shifting. Charby can assume any shape and size he pleases. Most of these are illusionary tricks, but most of them are quite real and dangerous...
• Telepathy. It's very limited, like listening to snippets of radio with bad reception. Only works if he is close enough to the subject.
• Telekinesis: Extremely limited and weak by any other standards. He can lift small objects a short distance. Just enough to dump a bowl of cereal on someone's head!
• Hypnotism. Charby can hypnotize a person with his eyes, but it doesn't work if they have poor eyesight!
• Hovering. He can hover a few feet off the ground for a small amount of time, but it's not quite the same as flying and it's a little slower than walking.
• The Beast, as it is called so far. A defense mechanism that forces a starving Elite to go into a feeding frenzy to restore energy, or so it would seem. It seems a surge of energy can force an Elite to change this way, but it can also be controlled and brought out on purpose to fight off many enemies. Charby first found out what caused this when he accidentally killed and ate his first girlfriend. An earlier transformation into the Beast had happened before this that Charby had no recollection of, other than waking up stark-naked in the middle of the woods. He found out it was from being blood-starved only when his poor girlfriend hurt herself, and Charby went on a rampage, eating her entire village too.
• The staff of Oswego give Charby one of two powers, a super-powered evil side that is uncontrollable and lascivious, or a "good" side that has telekinetic powers and higher strength and stamina. Both give him wings, therefore giving him flight as well.

Charby's friends

Charby has a number of acquaintances in the cabin, but only a few are considered close friends by him. Charby's first friend was a settler girl he met, but that ended tragically. His oldest friend is King Samrick, and his best friends are Menu, Victor, Zeno, and Tony. He is good friends with Mye as well though their friendship has been a little awkward since he's locked lips with her more than even her own boyfriend.