Luca

Luca is one of the main protagonists of ‘The Golden Bird’. He is a pleasure slave originally from Ost, in the occupied territory of Kel. At the age of seven, he was taken from his home by the overseer of Ost, eventually coming to work in Lyonesse under a series of masters. After a long awaited reunion with childhood friend Robert Black, Luca becomes involved in a plot to remove Ademar from his position as King.

Appearance
When he is brought to The King’s Seray, Aquila describes Luca as, “fine-boned, narrowly built, and very pleasingly proportioned,” with the musculature of a dancer. Robert is able to wrap his hands around Luca’s waist. His skin is pale, but marred by some scars on his back and wrists. In addition, he has two brands on his back- one on his lower back, the other between his shoulder blades. The former is from his training house. The latter, with a fleur-de-lis design, signifies King Ademar’s ownership of him. Luca is circumcised, with shaved body hair. His ears and navel are pierced.

Luca’s eyes are large, with long blonde eyelashes. They are a shade of dark blue described several times as close to violet. When Luca was eleven, Robert noted that his eyes appeared ‘years older’ than he was. His lips are described as full.

One of Luca’s most striking features is his long, wavy, golden hair. During his tenure at The Harlequin and The King’s Seray, he wore it in elaborate braided styles, accessorised with ribbons and pins. While travelling on The Makepeace, he wears his hair in one simple, loose braid. A client likens the colour of his hair to gold jewelry.

When working or performing, Luca wears makeup consisting primarily of black kohl and red carmine. He usually wears little more than a sheer waistcloth or tunic, sometimes accessorised with cheap, gaudy jewelry. Under the King’s instruction, he has also worn gold body paint to cover marks and bruises, as well as a chain harness. In addition to this, Luca’s nipples are pierced at The Seray.

For Bacchanal, he wore a Ganymene costume made up of a girdle of bells and a golden half-mask. When travelling with General Balkas, Luca is given an oversized tunic, a thick woollen sweater and pair of socks, as well as an old pair of boots once belonging to Toby. He wears a metal slave collar.

Luca shares some traits associated with his Keld heritage, such as the colour of his hair and skin, while his beauty is remarkably uncharacteristic. Luca’s own perception of his body is largely negative.

Personality
In ‘The Golden Bird’, Luca acts obedient, submissive and eager to please, especially around free men. However, this is a product of his training, and not a reflection of his true personality. His trauma has also had a significant impact on the way he acts and perceives things. At one point, Luca recollects being talkative as a child before entering the training house, where he “had been beaten if he even looked like he was about to speak without a direct command.”

Luca is curious, and asks questions when he is in comfortable situations. He is a quick learner, with an unusual intelligence for a pleasure slave. Particularly, he is skilled at retaining information, learning languages, and deciphering codes. However, he purposefully hides this. When it is revealed, he takes any praise shyly. He displays caution when forming relationships, but is fiercely loyal to those he is close to. When relaxed, he is more open, sharing jokes and laughing.

Luca rarely displays anger, but has snapped suddenly in the past out of stress and/or fear. This can be seen when Bagoas questions his relationship with Robert, as well as when Asher suggests running away. In addition to this, he experiences panic attacks, and sometimes imagines the voice of his trainer when he feels as though he is doing something wrong. He also shows traits of an eating disorder, such as rationing food.

History
Luca was born in Ost, a territory occupied by Solas since King Roland’s victory at the Battle of Roan. At the time, the Commissioner of the Barbarian Territories was Sergeant Major John Collins. While he was inspecting troops in Ost, the Commissioner took notice of Luca and had him taken from his home, killing his mother in the process. After kidnapping Luca, the Commissioner raped him violently and proceeded to keep him as a pleasure slave. Prior to this, Luca had experienced oral sex with soldiers. At the age of nine, Luca was transported on a ship and listed on the itinerary as a possession of the Commissioner, who eventually lost ownership of Luca in a card game. The winner kept him for one night before selling him to an auction house. From there, he was bought by one of the finest training houses in Solas, where he remained until completing his training at the age of eleven*.

After completing his three-year training, Luca was bought by Master Crawley. At Crawley’s house, he was kept in a room with no windows. It was here that Luca met Robbie for the first time when Robbie snuck into the room through the dumbwaiter. The two became close friends, their relationship later evolving into love. Robbie gave Luca lessons in literacy and numeracy. In return, Luca taught Robbie how to speak Keld. Robbie made plans to buy Luca and began saving up, but did not realise Luca’s value, and their illicit relationship was later discovered by Crawley. Crawley had planned to sell Luca to an acquaintance, Lord Alvey, for Twenty-Thousand crowns and a foal. However, considering Luca ‘debauched’, he instead sold him to a wharfside fuckhouse owned by a man named Jorin.

At the fuckhouse, Luca was chained to a bed and made to take every man in the house in exchange for keeping him alive. In his place, Jorin has another boy killed by a client who bought a death, making Luca watch. This client is later revealed to be Councilor Bors. To disguise the boy, his face and brand were burned away. After an unspecified length of time, the bedframe he was chained to broke. Luca uses an exposed nail to attempt suicide by slicing his wrists open. The attempt was unsuccessful. During this time, he was also force fed through a tube. A client recognised his brand as belonging to an esteemed training house, and told the proprietor of The Harlequin Brothel about him. He was then bought by Gregori Boq.

At The Harlequin, he began working in the public room. However, due to his beauty and dancing skill, his prestige and reputation quickly increased. He was tasked with training debt-slave Asher, alongside Vassandro.

Family
Luca has not seen his family since he was seven, but still thinks about them. Both his father Gethin and mother Ailsa are dead, though the status of his brothers Alek and Brannan remains unknown.

Robert
Robbie and Luca have had a close bond since they were children. After the two are reunited at The Harlequin, Robbie brings gifts such as food and books. Robbie motivates a lot of Luca’s actions, and is regularly in his mind. Luca tries to initiate sex with Robbie several times, though Robbie refuses his advances, thinking Luca is unable to consent.

Asher
Luca is tasked with helping train Asher when he is first brought to The Harlequin. Their relationship is tumultuous, and Asher often snaps at him, but Luca never takes this personally. He shows sympathy for Asher’s situation and shares food with him, going hungry himself to do so. Despite Asher’s anger, they share a deep connection. After Asher is beaten by The Beast, Luca reacts violently. When Asher is freed, he continues to ask about Luca’s wellbeing.

Toby
While travelling, Toby teaches Luca the intricacies of the game ‘Legion’. When it is revealed that Luca can speak several languages, Toby tests him by regularly switching between them during a conversation.

Doran & Connell
Doran and Connell are made responsible for Luca’s wellbeing on The Makepeace. They protect him from the other sailors, give him clothes and a safe place to sleep, and make sure he keeps fed and hydrated. Luca is initially uncomfortable with the way they treat him, but soon grows comfortable with them. When Connell notices bruising on Luca’s legs, he treats them with a salve.

Sark
Sark is the overseer at The Harlequin. He buys Luca books in exchange for sex. Luca is unaware of the truth behind Sark’s feelings for him, until Bagoas tells him that Sark “would steal jewels to cast them at your feet if he thought it would make you smile.”

Bagoas
Bagoas shows a fondness for Luca, and does not prevent him from keeping Sark’s books as he should. However, he also shows him tough love after discovering Robbie and Luca’s relationship, not wanting it to end badly. This is because he had a similar relationship in the past, and doesn’t want Luca to end up the same way.

Trivia

 * Luca gets severely seasick
 * Luca has some knowledge of eight languages, ranging from select phrases to fluency
 * Luca is missing one of his back molars
 * Luca loves chocolate biscuits