Carthian Blake

• Born: 872, Rydell
• Current Location: Frequent traveller, though mostly sticking to the posh part of whichever town he's in.

The grandson of noted artist, makeshifter and designer Corinthian Blake, Carthian grew up in an environment of decadent luxury.

After the death of his father in 856, he had mile-wide strip of flower gardens planted on the previously unsettled moon Ideon, with the paths spelling out a poem in honour of the old man. This extravagant gesture captured the attention of the local media, securing Carthian's popularity among Newton's social elite.

Carthian's fame was now assured, but he quickly discovered that with nothing more tha a reputation for extravagance and over-the-top gestures, his popularity quickly started to wane as immitators made grander and more spectacular demonstrations of their wealth and vision. And with only his inheritance from his grandfather, he knew he would not be able to keep up with the escalating demonstrations for long.

Seeking a new claim to fame, and the popularity it could generate, Carthian decided to become an artist. According to his autobiography, it was after a drunken conversation with childhood friend Gerschwin Tanner in a seedy bar on an overcrowded world that he first saw a parallel between cruiser bodywork and high-fashion clothing.

Carthian's first major show was on Wordishall in 849. The event took the traditional layout and style of a catwalk show, but the models in this case were 12 Osterman Neucleons. These vessels were made unique by changes to the bodywork - vividly painted panels from which streamers and sails of mylar were hung. These were carefully created to match the outfits of the drivers, all taken from Corinthian Blake's seminal Liquid Iron collection.