The Captain

The Captain of the Nocturne (simply referred to as The Captain) is the mysterious figure in charge of one of the four vampirate ships. From the beginning, he seems to have a deep connection to the Tempest Twins and holds their safety in high regard going as far as to assign Lorcan Furey to be Grace's protector while she's aboard the ship. It is revealed in Empire of Night that his real name is Obsidian Darke.

Appearance
While the shanty describes him as wearing a veil, The Captain wears a mesh mask over his face. The mask is very much like a death-mask and is so tight that it creases in the mouth area according to The Captain's facial expressions. Despite the shanty also describing the captain of the vampirates as having "death pale skin", his skin is actually a dark brown.

The Captain is covered from head to toe, never seeming to take off his gloves or mask. He wears a long cape that seems to be made of the same material as The Nocturne's sails, as they both are made of a leather-like material and have glowing veins.

Personality
The Captain rules The Nocturne fairly and treats both donors, vampires, and visitors alike with the same care. He takes it upon himself to protect everyone aboard his ship and feels great remorse and anger when those under his care come to harm, such as when Lorcan Furey was blinded. By Blood Captain it is shown The Captain cares a little too much, as it's revealed he has been carrying multiple souls of those who he sought to protect from death (the most notable of these being Sally Tempest), inside his own body. Something The Captain did, despite knowing the risks. It seems the souls he was carrying greatly affected his personality, though it's unknown if any of the souls he had 'collected' had any control over his body.

Despite The Captain's tendency to burden himself with others' problems, he can be quite vindictive. Once his trust is betrayed it's difficult, if at all possible, to gain it back. While he has a front of mercilessness in the face of betrayal, such as with the renegade vampirates, he is hard-pressed to be violent; more often than not avoiding violence by scaring the offenders or relying on others to serve punishment.

Background
Little to nothing is known about The Captain's backstory other than the fact that Mosh Zu Kamal trained him and readied him for life captaining The Nocturne. He, along with three others vampirate captains, were given identical masks and capes and became The Four Cardinals. The Captain was charged with the southern quadrant and aptly titled, The Southern Cardinal. He was severely wounded, either after death or in life, and the scar is covered by his mask.

At some point, The Captain helped write the Vampirate Shanty in order to discourage contact from the mortal world.

Abilities
The Captain is able to selectively read people's thoughts and communicates through a form of telepathy. It is even hinted that he can use a light form of hypnosis, as he is able to briefly control a disturbed Shanti.

He is able to create a mist around The Nocturne and uses it to protect vampirates from direct sun, or to keep the ship from being noticed.

He is also able to summon fire and light, as he's seen doing so in order to scare exiled vampirates away.

The Captain seems to be linked with his ship, as when he grows agitated, The Nocturne's sails begin to flap.

Trivia

 * He has trained himself, like Mosh Zu Kamal, to not have any thirst for blood; instead, he feeds off of prana, or "life-force"
 * The Captain's given name, Obsidian, is volcanic glass known for its sharp edges and black color, in many cultures obsidian was used for weapons
 * His surname "Darke" could have multiple origins; it could simply be a variant of the word "dark", or be the real-life surname which was traditionally given to dark-skinned celts