Danitz

Biodata

Power Progression

• Sequence 6 remains unreached: Property purchases and failed investments leave him unable to afford the formula and ingredients. Fear of losing control also helps him rationalize delaying advancement 356 446 467.
• Sequence 5 formula acquired: Lorne gives him the Reaper potion formula as compensation for his suffering under Tracy. Danitz memorizes it, but receiving the formula does not constitute advancement 466 467.
• Mistaken assessment: Lorne initially assumes that Danitz must have reached Sequence 6 after receiving bounty money and arms-smuggling work. Their reunion establishes that this assumption was incorrect 369 466.

Background / History

Life aboard the Golden Dream

Danitz serves as the Golden Dream’s fourth boatswain, supervising sailors and participating in Edwina’s compulsory lessons. His education includes languages and enough ritual magic to contact the captain over a limited distance. He describes the crew as companions seeking treasure and repeatedly recruits newcomers by emphasizing their backing and access to Beyonder powers 76 77 95 96 98.

He is satisfied with a life combining adventure, money, subordinates, and proximity to Edwina. He also hopes to return home wealthy enough to impress the “old man” who says he will never amount to anything 104 240.

Meeting Lorne

Danitz’s attempt to recruit Lorne ends with Lucky knocking him down and Lorne holding him at gunpoint. Although threatened, he refuses to disclose the Golden Dream’s location. Lorne distracts him by exposing his crush on Edwina and escapes, leaving Danitz to discover that he has been fooled 77 78.

They meet again in Bayam while Claw Kus and two other pirates pursue Danitz. Danitz tries to involve Lorne by calling him his new lackey; the two nevertheless cooperate to defeat their attackers. After another interrogation, Lorne treats his wound and buys him drinks. Danitz agrees to collect the dead pirates’ bounties, with forty percent going to Lorne, who introduces himself as “Monkey Brando” 82 83.

Further injuries force Lorne to shelter Danitz in an inconspicuous inn. A Beyonder-related insect later burrows into Danitz’s wounded leg, prompting them to seek Roy King’s help. In return for discretion and an escort, Danitz promises money and assistance obtaining potion formulas 88 89.

Bringing Brando aboard

Danitz contacts Edwina and brings Lorne aboard the Golden Dream to study. He initially presents Lorne as his subordinate to conceal their humiliating early encounters, but Lorne publicly describes them as friends 95 96.

Lorne’s private lessons with Edwina make other crew members suspicious, and they accuse Danitz of being a traitor for supporting him. Their friendship remains abrasive: Lorne repeatedly teases him, while Danitz fears that his embarrassing secrets will become shipboard gossip 98 100 101.

A joke about Lorne selling Danitz’s property documents pushes him into conjuring a fireball in the dining hall. Edwina intervenes because public use of Beyonder abilities is forbidden. Lorne subsequently explains that the houses were never sold 104 105.

Tracy’s bounty and the escape from Bayam

After Lucky leads him to a wrecked boat, Danitz rescues an unconscious, bound Lorne and preserves his satchel. He identifies Lorne’s captor as Tracy, the Ailment Maiden 147 148.

When Alger tells him that Brando has a 10,000-pound bounty, Danitz briefly considers the money but suppresses the temptation and returns to warn his friend. He then helps stage Brando’s death, persuading Alger to collect the bounty alone while keeping Danitz’s involvement secret 156 157 163.

The deception brings further pursuit. Tracy targets Danitz, and his own bounty reaches 7,000 pounds. Steel Maveti and Sly Talker Misor capture him, but Lorne intervenes; Danitz plays dead and kills Misor with an unexpected close-range shot 170 180 185 186.

Unable to rejoin the Golden Dream through normal channels, Danitz leaves Bayam with Lorne under Cattleya’s protection. They eventually encounter Edwina’s ship, where he awakens in the infirmary and refuses another vacation 192 197.

Wealth, investments, and arms smuggling

Danitz receives 8,200 pounds as his twenty-percent share of the bounty proceeds from Admiral of Blood Seniors and other pirates. Despite Lorne’s advice to prioritize advancement, he spends 4,500 pounds on three buildings in central Bayam 240.

Tracy’s attacks on the Golden Dream disrupt its normal treasure hunting, while criticism from the crew drives Danitz to seek money as a way to prove his worth. Lorne supplies him with arms-smuggling business, and Danitz arranges a sale to Blood Axe Lack of the Rorsted Archipelago Resistance Army. Reckless investments nevertheless exhaust his savings 258 318 355.

Gehrman Sparrow and renewed captivity

Klein confronts Danitz about Brando while operating as Gehrman Sparrow. Danitz escapes by launching a fire raven at close range, then buys passage to Bayam to warn Edwina and write to Lorne. During their subsequent travels, Gehrman makes him wash clothes, pay expenses, and record intelligence and gossip about Brando 356 362 416 422.

After leaving Gehrman, Danitz is captured by Causer’s men. Kayson’s Black Death crew intervenes to claim him for Tracy, and Klein helps him escape the confrontation. Tracy later abducts him directly from his inn 422 423 434 435.

Aboard the Black Death, Tracy blames him for separating her from Brando and interrogates him about Brando’s relationship with Edwina. Danitz endures torture and being hung upside down from a mast; Klein is later hung beside him. Both subsequently reach Cattleya’s ship for treatment 445 446 453 462.

Captaincy and the Laurel expedition

Lorne and Sharron find Danitz in Bayam after his escape. He shows Lorne his remaining wounds and demands compensation, receiving the Sequence 5 Reaper formula. Lorne then offers him command of a cargo ship, proposes naming it the Flame, and promises eventual leadership of a fleet. Danitz accepts the accompanying voyage despite its risks 466 467 468.

During the expedition, Danitz learns that Lorne has become a demigod. His initial discouragement gives way to excitement at having such powerful backing. They encounter Vice Admiral Dusk’s fleet in waters from which ships cannot escape 471 472.

Left to guard the cargo ship with Lorne’s Blood Ring, Danitz holds off more than twenty pirates until his spirituality nearly runs out. Lorne returns, reveals that he has killed Vice Admiral Dusk, and takes Danitz to the Laurel’s wreck to gather treasure. Danitz returns to Bayam with Sharron, hides his gold in his property, and conceals the windfall when he goes to see Gehrman 481 487 489.

Appearance

• Recognizable face: His wanted posters make concealment important; Lorne purchases a mystically protective mask for him when they leave Bayam 77 192.
• Disguises: Uses makeup, hats, and a false beard. His early disguise fails to prevent recognition, though a later attempt is noticeably better 83 161 356.
• Flat cap: Pulls it low while moving through Bayam after his captivity aboard the Black Death 466.

Personality

Danitz is proud of his “Flame” reputation and expects his name and affiliation to intimidate strangers. Indifference from both Lorne and Klein wounds that pride. He is especially sensitive to humiliation, repeatedly demanding secrecy about his injuries, defeats, and captivity 77 89 93 356 462.

His bluster coexists with genuine loyalty. He refuses to betray Edwina at gunpoint, rejects the temptation to turn Lorne in for 10,000 pounds, and resolves not to reveal information about either friend when facing Rose School torture 78 156 422.

He loves money and associates wealth with security, prestige, and eventual retirement. His preference for property and speculative investments repeatedly undermines his ability to advance. Even so, he recognizes Lorne’s generosity and continues to help him despite frequent complaints 240 355 422 467 489.

Romantic insecurity makes him easily provoked. He idealizes Edwina’s beauty and intellect, worries that Lorne might court her, and becomes flustered whenever his crush is mentioned. He also enjoys gossip, particularly rumors involving Lorne and Tracy 83 101 148 355.

Abilities & Skills

Pyromancy

• Fireballs: Conjures offensive flames capable of blasting Claw Kus several meters backward 82.
• Fire ravens: Shapes fire into an explosive raven, using one as a surprise attack to escape Klein 356.
• Limits: His firepower does not compensate for overwhelming disadvantages in Sequence or numbers; Causer’s group quickly defeats him 422.

Endurance

• Beyonder vitality: Survives two days hung upside down from a mast under the scorching sun, an ordeal that would likely kill an ordinary person 445.
• Not bulletproof: A close-range shotgun blank hurts him, and Lorne notes that a Sequence 7 cannot withstand a live shotgun blast with bare flesh 113.

Seamanship and Pirate Contacts

• Crew supervision: Directs sailors aboard the Golden Dream and later operates Lorne’s cargo ship 98 468 472.
• Bounty collection: Knows intermediaries and procedures for claiming pirate bounties 83 84.
• Information network: Uses taverns and secret contact points to gather news and communicate with the Golden Dream 156 184.
• Arms trading: Arranges a buyer within the Rorsted Archipelago Resistance Army 318.

Ritual Magic and Deception

• Communication rituals: Can contact Edwina when sufficiently close to the Golden Dream 95.
• Acting: Helps sell Brando’s staged death to Alger and later feigns death to ambush Misor 163 186.
• Uneven execution: Alger initially considers his concealment clumsy, while Lorne praises his performance during the staged-death operation 161 163.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blood Ring — borrowed: Lorne lends it to him to control zombies through Wraith abilities and defend the cargo ship. Its high spirituality cost eventually forces him out of Wraith state 481 487.
• White protective mask: Purchased by Lorne; interferes with most low-level prying and divination 192.
• Good-luck charm: Receives one from Lorne alongside another intended for Edwina 422.
• Reaper potion formula: Memorizes the Hunter Pathway’s Sequence 5 formula supplied by Lorne; he still lacks the Sequence 6 formula at that point 466 467.
• Bayam properties: Owns houses on Fragrant Tree Avenue and later purchases three central Bayam buildings. He uses his property to conceal the Laurel treasure 104 105 240 489.
• Ripper shotgun — tested: Accidentally fires a blank while attempting a one-handed spin reload. He later finds production models in an arms shipment and expresses interest in keeping one 113 318.

Bounty Record

Relationships

• Lorne / Monkey Brando — Close friend, frequent tormentor, and later employer. Their mutual rescues develop into financial cooperation; Lorne considers hurting Danitz a violation of his personal boundary 95 147 466 468.
• Edwina Edwards / Vice Admiral Iceberg — Captain, teacher, and secret romantic interest. Danitz relies on her protection and worries that admitting financial failure would damage her opinion of him 78 95 291.
• Klein / Gehrman Sparrow — Intimidating traveling companion who extracts information and expenses from him, but also rescues him. Danitz eventually acknowledges his loyalty despite considering him a lunatic 416 423 434.
• Tracy / Vice Admiral of Ailment — Persecutor and captor. She blames Danitz for bringing Brando into Edwina’s orbit and uses him to pressure Brando 435 446.
• Alger — Acquaintance from a Pirate Gathering and participant in Brando’s staged-death bounty scheme 74 163.
• Cattleya — Helps him and Lorne escape Bayam; later receives him aboard her ship for treatment 192 462.
• Sharron — Accompanies Lorne on the cargo voyage and returns to Bayam with Danitz after the Laurel expedition 468 489.
• Golden Dream crewmates — Tin Can, Bucket, Jodson, and others accuse him of supporting a romantic rival and later blame him for attracting Tracy’s hostility 98 100 258.

Trivia

• Danitz is the first male friend Lorne realizes he has made a charm for 369.
• His accidental shotgun discharge helps Lorne identify the need for a safety, a larger lever loop, and changes to the Ripper’s stock 113.
• After repeated disastrous shore leave, he wonders whether he has a special knack for attracting strange people like Brando and Gehrman 431 434.