Moryn awoke, feeling the excitement of the town. Lougetown was never as packed as it was today. It felt almost like a festival, except to some it was a tragedy. Today was the day of the Pirate King’s execution.
Entering his small family kitchen Moryn caught sight of his mother and father sitting at the table. Moryn’s mother cooked a light meal for them. Meanwhile his father read the newspaper, a wide smile on his face.
“Today is the day boy.” Moryn’s father said, almost whistling. “That bastard Rogers is finally getting what he deserved.” Moryn’s father was robbed by pirates a year ago, he never got over it and held a hatred for pirates ever since. “Take a look at this? Says Admiral Nekure was the one to catch him. He is going to be overseeing the Execution. Moryn you should look up to this man, a true hero.”
Moryn took a silent seat across from his father, eating the food that his mother put in front of him. The food was tasteless to him, why was that? His father continued to smile to himself, as if he had no care of the life that was about to be lost.
A bell began to ring in the distance, signalling people to start flooding into the town square. Moryn’s father almost jumped to his feet in excitement. He grabbed at his wife and son and began to pull them out of the door, locking it behind them.
The square was massive and packed, overflowing into the alleyways. Moryn noticed several shadowed faces watching from the shadows, their expressions silent. At the back of the square was the massive stand built just for this event, one that most likely would become an icon of Lougetown. A breeze blew in from the sea, it tasted like a storm to Moryn.
Moryn’s father pushed through the crowd, wanting a good spot to see. As he pushed through he pulled his family along with him. It wasn't long before someone pushed back, Moryn felt his fathers grip loosen as the shove. Moryn found himself on the ground, his family missing.
He looked around wildly, strangers all talked amongst themselves, waiting for the show. Moryn began to move, his small child body sliding past the adults easily. He didn't know where he was going, but he just wanted to keep moving. He stopped at one point, next to a crate that he used to look above the crowd. Still his family was missing, he knew his way home so he decided to leave now. Then the bells rang.
The crowd parted, and Moryn turned sharply to where he had entered the square. Two marines with long glaives led the way through the crowd, behind them was the King himself. He was strange, so much taller than he expected, his moustache almost looked like the hair grew from his nose, and that smile, that wide smile. Behind Gold Rogers was his capture, Admiral Nekure. He was tall, well built, and had dark tanned skin with a thick head and face of black hair. They walked through the crowd with ease, some booed the king of the pirates or yelled mockeries at him, most just remained silent and watched.
They climbed the stairs, each step echoing in Moryn’s head. They reached the top, and the king simply sat cross legged with a wide smile on his face. Moryn quickly turned his head down.
“Dont look away boy.” A voice came from Moryn’s right. He turned to see a man with bright green eyes and blue hair. He was older, maybe forties? “You dont want to miss the last moments of the greatest man who ever lived.”
For some reason those words hit Moryn differently, he turned to face the tower. Rogers still smiled, as if he had no care in the world. The glaives dropped in front of him, crossing in front of his face. Moryn shot a glance at the man next to him, and saw the tears welling up in his eyes.
“Hey Pirate king!” A man yelled out from the crowd. “Where is the treasure huh! Where did you stash it!”
Roger’s smile widened. “You want my treasure.” his voice echoed out, silencing the whole square. Moryn felt his heart pounding in his chest, the words of the king hitting him hard. The executioners raised their glaives above the king’s head, ready to drop. “You can have it! I left everything together in one place! Now you'll just have to find it!” Those words lingered in the air as the blades dropped in unison, the king’s head dropping to the wood tower.
Moryn watched, his mouth dropped wide. He felt it, the fire of Roger’s life. He felt his heart beat, not out of fear or despair, but out of excitement. He never felt so exhilarated, a grand treasure, the greatest treasure in the world was his for the taking. The fire burned brightly in his chest.
“That bastard.” The man next to Moryn said. Moryn looked over to see the man, the tears flowing and a smile on his face. The man turned and began to move, then he stopped himself, turning towards Moryn. “Here kid.” The man said, pulling out a cloth from his pocket and tossing it to Moryn. “Best of luck out there.” He then pushed through the still crowd.
Moryn unfolded the cloth to reveal a blue scarf, and a gold brooch. The brooch had a small gemstone encrusted into it, a sapphire from what he could tell. This brooch was worth a small fortune, or a ship.
Looking at where he saw the man leave he took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck, making his vow. He would find the great treasure, he would find everything the world had to offer, and he would make it his.
Moryn was not aware he was just one of the many that were inspired by the Pirate King's words, he was just the start of the great pirate era.
Moryn thought back to that day while he sat on his ship, the blue scarf blowing in the wind. He looked at his jolly roger, a skull with a sapphire eye, the symbol of the Sapphire Pirates. His navigator told him it wasn't long now, their next island just off the horizon, he wondered what he would find there, perhaps a clue to the grand treasure Roger’s spoke before his death, the One Piece.
