Kites With No Colours

The scourge of the Carneman and beyond, the pirate coalition of the Kites With No Colours, or simply the Kites, prowl the islets, coasts and coves of Nawaquivo and the wider waters of the world. Every merchant vessel that plies the seas of the region knows to be on the lookout for these daring buccaneers, for they will target all but the hardiest of ships for the promise of loot and glory. The great cities of the region have all issued blanket orders to apprehend any Kite on site, to be brought for judgement and summary execution. But the Kites are all skilled seafarers, appearing and disappearing at will and they know these waters like few others, and none but they know the location of their chief hideout, the hidden city of Brigtown.

Structure

Not a true organization in traditional sense, the Kites operate more in the manner of a loose coalition of like-minded individuals, each committed to living free and living large upon the seas. Each ship and its captain sail under their own banners and conduct their roguish activities in their own manner. What ties the Kites together is a pledge to stick to a loose code of honour, and loose in the strongest of possible terms. Out on the open waters, any and all are fair game as far as the Kites are concerned, but in the hidden shanty-city of Brigtown, every captain is a king and is treated as such. All squabbles or grudges between captains and crew must be set aside within Brigtown, and when a meeting is called at the Stolen Table, every captain has the right to be heard.
While there is no official central authority among the Kites, each of them nonetheless acknowledge and respect the word of Captain Jowa Borratan. Regarded as the spiritual successor of the founder of the Kites With No Colours, Captain Daward Tique, Captain Jowa acts as an enforcer of the Pledge, the great tome where Tique codified the rules that all Kites swear to abide by. Jowa and his crew keep the peace between the various pirates within Brigtown, and should they catch wind of any who have broken with the Pledge, they are relentless and merciless in pursuit from the deck of their notorious vessel, the Promise.

Culture

The Kites are, by their very nature, a motley collection of eclectic and anarchic individuals who usually, though not always, put themselves before all else. The unifying principles of all Kites are a desire to live free, get rich and enjoy the pleasures that comes with it, be it drink, food or company. A desire for excitement and adventure is a common, indeed vital, aspect of a Kite's character, as well as a healthy dose of bravado, cunning and willingness to take great risks in search of gold and glory. The only thing keeping this chaotic coalition from collapsing and consuming itself is the Pledge. This surprisingly complex and detailed codex outlines the closest thing to a law that all Kites are supposed to adhere to, though most do so only in the most liberal of sense. The only rule of the Pledge that all Kites abide by is that no-one must reveal the location of Brigtown to an outsider, an act akin to high treason among the civilised nations and any who do can expect a most grisly and painful death should they be caught.
Every pirate captain within the Kites is the king of their ship and can conduct business however they wish. What goes on onboard is left entirely to the captain's discretion, but this also involves maintaining the loyalty of their crew. Mutinies are by no-means unheard of should a captain not keep his crew satisfied in the manner they are accustomed to, and individual pirates will not hesitate to change their loyalties should they find another captain more to their liking. Captains tend to favour certain kinds of illicit ventures, and lead crew who tend to share similar proclivities. Smuggling is a favorite of most captains, but there are darker vessels who do not shy away from whole-sale plunder of merchant vessels and lightly defended settlements along the coastline, making off with resources, treasures and even people to pressgang into slavery or servitude.
In the maddening and labyrinthine Brigtown, every hut and building is either a tavern, brothel or gambling den or some mixture thereof. The establishments closer to the waterline are where the run-of-the-mill deckhands spend their share of the booty dolled out to them by their captain, while the captains and those in their favour can experience the grander, more sophisticated establishments (by Brigtown standards at any rate), where most all of the luxuries of Nawaquivo and beyond can be enjoyed.
Despite the Pledge clearly prohibiting blood to be drawn within the bounds of Brigtown, these rules are usually only enforced among the elite pirates. The crews and deckhands below are largely left to their own devices, so brawls, thefts and cheating is common and indeed expected of life in the Bay. However, should any crewman of Captain Jowa's Promise be within the vicinity, a pirate would be wise to watch their step.

History

The origin of what the Kites With No Colours are today can be traced to Captain Daward Tique, a Karuliman captain turned enterprising privateer. Tired of his meager living as the captain of a merchant vessel under the employee of the regional trading companies, Tique turned his talents as a seaman towards buccaneering. His infamy and legend grew and spread throughout the region, attracting more and more adventure-seeking sailors to a life of piracy. Tique founded Brigtown in the shelter of a hidden cove he had uncovered, and gradually over the next century the town grew into the lawless hive of miscreants and revelry that it is today.
Tique knew however that petty squabbles and rivalries among the pirates and their captains could well lead to their own destruction if total anarchy were allowed to reign unchecked among them. As a true believer in the freedom he believed he had helped found in these waters, Tique realised that some structure was required to keep the pirates from devouring each other. To this end he penned the famous Pledge, which laid out the code of honour that all who took up the life of a pirate should abide by. One by one, the most powerful of the pirate captains swore to uphold the Pledge and to honour the sanctity of Brigtown as a safe haven for every rogue, blaggard and cut-throat who could call no place else home.
So renowned and respected had Tique and his legend become among the pirates, that their unofficial union took their name from his ship, the Sea Kite. After Tique died, his crew vowed that they would sail under no other captain again. His ship was broken up and used to form the Captain's Hold, the grand yet slightly ramshackle manor house at the heart of Brigtown, with the prow and it's fearsome avian figurehead looming to this day over the Stolen Table.

Freedom, Plunder and Rum

Founding Date

Close to 140 years ago

Type

Illicit, Pirate Crew

Alternative Names

Kites, Sea Scallies

Demonym

Kite, Scally