Baltasar Reyes is the guy standing against a wall with his gold-ringed thumbs hooked in his belt loops, smiling slightly, his steeltoe boot tapping lightly to the music. Too dark skinned to be read as white, people mostly assume he's Latinx, and they aren't wrong. If he has jeans that aren't stained or splattered in paint, no one's ever seen him wear them. Dressing up to this Spaniard is making a cursory effort to contain his long, lightly curly dark hair in a hair tie and a button down, but never a tie, and the sleeves always rolled up. His style is that of a roadie; if he likes it, he wears it, and if he wears it, it's going to get damaged. He likes black hats: beanies, wide brimmed black felt and leather, wool flat caps, but always black.
He was embraced with a light stubble and moustache, which he shaves on rising most nights, a comfortable and grounding ritual. He wears his hair loose and enjoys a large collection of gold rings, though none of them heavy; he prefers the finer crafted jewelry, favoring a glint of warm color over the thick championship-styled rings. He always wears a belt, often with a small black leather tool holder for a well cared for multitool.
Personality[]
Reyes - everyone calls him Reyes - makes acquaintances quickly, with a skill of putting people of ease borne of centuries of travel, and is an unabashed flirt. He has a warm smile and a love of storytelling (and hearing stories) that makes him appear at ease, and a casual demeanor that resists most formality. He is comfortable in unstructured spaces, though he has spent enough time in courts to understand their necessity, regardless of his dislike of the rigidity of the etiquette. He has spent most of his life as part of an established, rigid chain of command, whether on ships or on tours, and as such prefers to do the dirty work, so the politics of directing others can pass him by.
He works as a rigger for theaters, stadiums, studios, and other performance spaces; that is, multiple stories up, installing motors or counterweight systems to fly sets, lights, speakers, and any other needs of a performance. He's been working in rope since his earliest memories, when he first started working on sailing vessels as a young boy.
Like any Brujah, Reyes has a temper. It's a dark and sudden thing, quiet and heavy, sometimes literally; his single point of Status comes from having dispatched a nasty Sabbat by dropping several thousand pounds on him from six stories, and scraping the paste into a steel drum full of oil Reyes summarily set aflame. At least, that's how the rumor goes; he doesn't tell the story himself.
Reyes loves movies, and will go see them frequently, even if he's seen it before; he'll go alone or with others, and sometimes buy popcorn just for the smell. He loves smartphones primarily because he can watch movies whenever he likes on them, but the fact he can look up actors and tropes and any multitude of other movie-related things with it is a huge bonus.
He has a car, a fairly current Jeep truck usually full of rigging gear, but also loves his quiet old Honda motorcycle that has clearly seen a few layers of Hell. He owns a personal ocean-faring sailboat, the Sebastian's Grave, but it remains docked in Galveston.
History[]
Reyes is here at Dre's request; he takes jobs from the Center for Performing Arts, the New Albion University ArtAud Theater, the Bon Vivant Studios, and the Verbal Beatdown. Really, anywhere that needs any amount of lights, sound, or sets can hire Reyes to put their gear in the sky.
Reyes has only been Kindred since 1998; he was his sire's ghoul from their first trans-Atlantic crossing in 1827. His sire, Natanael of Barcelona, was killed in 2015. Unlike most Kindred, Reyes and Natanael travelled very frequently, usually by ship. Reyes has met Kindred around the world.
Merits: Former Ghoul 1, Open Road 2, Lucky 3, Sabbat Survivor 1
Flaws: Infertile Vitae 5, Deep Sleeper 1, Enemy 1
Backgrounds[]
Elite 1
Reyes' occupation has had him rub shoulders with the famous, both in front of and behind the camera/curtain/mix console.
Underworld 2
Reyes' occupation has had him fill some requests, ahem, under the table. Being a sailor and a roadie means Reyes has spent most of his life hanging out in the underbelly.
Resources 3
Touring and sailing comes with a decent per diem, and not a lot of out of pocket costs. Reyes has managed to pocket most of his cash over the centuries, and his sire's higher class meant he had a lot of access to banking institutions.
Haven 2
Occult/Security: The occult wards Reyes put on his haven are from an esoteric Catholicism that he and his Sire practiced. He doesn't really understand how they work, but with every new room that is his Haven, however briefly, he etches the doorframe in charcoal, says his prayers, and gives his thanks. The Security portion of his Haven is a combination of alerts and traps (and locks) with his affection for new gadgetry and openness to security apps.
Specialties[]
Talents
Expression (Storytelling)
As a sailor and a roadie, Reyes loves collecting and telling stories. It's how he makes friends, it's how he flirts, and it's how he learns what information he inevitably needs to survive. He's an accomplished storyteller, and has done everything from taking classes to spending time with tribal storytellers.
Skills
Craft (Rigging)
If you need it in the air, Reyes can get it up there. He's been working with rope and chain his whole life, and from the earliest chain motors through the cutting edge programmable lifts, he's used it, fixed it, and loved it all. This comes with a basic understanding of carpentry and crafting, such as a sewing, plastering, and metalwork, all things required of a competent rigger and sailor.
Professional Skill (Watercraft - Adverse Conditions)
Reyes might ride a motorcycle, but he's no better than average on it. The impressive skill is on the water, where his understanding of the anatomy of a vessel and decades of years on the ocean show in an uncanny ability to keep afloat in a storm, through ice, and even being shot at - he's got some great stories from a couple of wars.
Hobbies[]
Technology (Performance tech)
Reyes took to the sea just as the age of sail was giving way to the age of steam; he remembers hauling cargo with wooden pulleys alone. Most of it has shown up in the entertainment business. Early theater worked much like ships; as such, Reyes was an early adopter of automation, both analog and digital, and has built the touring automation rigs for no small number of productions.
Merits & Flaws[]
Merits
Former Ghoul
Reyes was Natanael de Barcelona's ghoul for 171 years.
Open Road
Reyes has been travelling his whole life; settling down is a bit weird. He's not sure how long he'll be in New Albion.
Lucky
What can he say? You can't be a sailor or on tour for two centuries and not have a bit of luck.
Sabbat Survivor
Sabbat killed his sire; Reyes took his vengeance. He doesn't love giving details.
Flaws
Infertile Vitae
Reyes actually does not know that he cannot Embrace; he's never tried.
Deep Sleeper
When you have to be able to sleep anywhere, you do; for Reyes, it means he sleeps hard, and always has.
Enemy
This is only a rating 1. The childe of the Sabbat vampire that Reyes killed understandably does not like him, but that vampire is on the other side of the world, and therefore is only a threat from a distance.
Relationships[]
Dre Kinson: "Because if someone's going to make me a Trebuchet it will be Reyes."
Reyes: "No one used trebuchets when I was bor-"
Randy: "Shut up Reyes, I've seen one of your 5:1 systems." - A Conversation in NYC before Dre left to New Albion.
