Early Life
Centuries ago, a boy named Sven was born in the Khia Slums of Carthago Nova. His mother, Cassandra, owed money to a wealthy man named Antonio Savas. Antonio was a cruel and greedy man who came to claim what was owed by Sven's mother, Cassandra, mere days after she'd given birth. When she told him she had nothing to give him, Antonio ordered his guards to take Sven as payment. Cassandra fought, but there was little she could do against five men in armor while still recovering from childbirth and so her son was taken from her.
Sven grew up enslaved to Antonio in one of the most lavish homes within the city. Due to slavery being technically illegal, Antonio made up a story about how he discovered Sven as a baby on his doorstep and out of the goodness of his heart took the boy in. When they were out and about, Antonio reinforced this story he had created by treating the boy like a son but, behind closed doors, Sven lived in fear of the man's incredibly short temper and explosive outbursts. Often, Sven would receive a vicious beating due to someone else angering Antonio. Most of the servants were too afraid to stand up to Antonio because before Sven's arrival they would be the ones to receive a beating. So, typically, none would approach until after Antonio had left Sven unconscious in a pool of his blood where they would bandage his wounds and carry him off to the servants quarters where he slept.
Escape/Birth of Lorenzo
This abuse went on for years until, during a trip to the town square during a celebration, Antonio was beckoned up onto a stage to talk about the wonderful new trade agreement that had just been made. Being unable to come up with a good excuse to keep Sven with him, Antonio asked a stall vendor he knew to keep an eye on the boy. While Antonio was talking, however, the merchant got distracted by a customer and Sven used the opportunity to run. At first, Sven didn't know where he would run to but, as luck would have it, the direction he'd run in took him to the docks where he saw a ship being loaded. Feeling emboldened by his own actions, and dreadfully afraid of what would happen if Antonio caught up to him, Sven stowed away in one of the crates ready to be loaded onto the ship.
The ship, as it happened, was a pirate vessel named Lady's Fortune, owned by the pirate captain Andre Rossi. When Sven was discovered he was dragged in front of the captain, who liked the boldness of the boy enough to keep him on board and ask his name. Sven hesitated for a moment before answering with the name Lorenzo, the name of the stall vendor who's inattentiveness allowed Sven Lorenzo to escape.
Pirate
Instead of being horrified by what he witnessed on the Lady's Fortune, Lorenzo became more infatuated with the idea of being a pirate. Where others might see the pirates attacking people on a whim, Lorenzo saw the ultimate freedom of choice. Instead of having to walk meekly to keep from drawing any attention himself, the men would walk with such confidence it was almost palpable. The only thing he did not like immediately was the work the made him do; swabbing the deck and working in the kitchen, as it reminded him too much of what Antonio had him do. Soon, he began to enjoy the back-breaking work; an opinion hastened because he was rarely punished for messing up and if he was the punishment rarely involved any hitting. The longer Lorenzo stayed on board and was shown that he could be free and that he did not have to worry about someone controlling his life, the more he began to view Andre as a sort of father figure, going so far as to adopt his surname as his own.
As Lorenzo grew older, Andre taught him how to fight as well as have him work alongside the navigator, quartermaster, and boatswain. Every scrap of knowledge about piracy or how to run a ship, Lorenzo absorbed like a sponge until he knew enough to rival men with over a decade's worth of experience sailing.
Shipwreck
Just as Lorenzo was in a position to take over as navigator, disaster struck in the form of a storm that shipwrecked them on the Ingerlin Coastline. Lorenzo, who had been securing the rigging, was thrown overboard when the ship violently turned sideways leaving him with rope burn from his hands sliding along the rope he'd been securing. Washed ashore, Lorenzo was found by a couple of rangers, drawn to his location by Lorenzo's falcon Sani, who brought him to the nearby town of Sison where he spent time recovering and mourning the loss of the only home and family he had ever known.
Upon recovery, Lorenzo left for the nearby city of Thalan where he discovered four other members of the crew, Estelle Fabian, Toni Davi, Emery Notron, and Julio Sáez, had survived but been washed ashore north of him. Unfortunately, none were Andre, his adopted father, and one of them, Julio the quartermaster, had had his leg shattered by debris trapping him against the rock face they'd washed up against and was unable to leave Thalan for the foreseeable future, if ever. Still, Lorenzo took heart in being reunited with the others after thinking he was alone in the world.
With his three able-bodied companions, Lorenzo sat down and began thinking of ways they could earn money to eventually buy them a ship as none of them liked the idea of remaining landlocked and Lorenzo's night terrors, and the ways he tried to avoid them, were beginning to take a toll on him. Unfortunately, the ships at Thalan's tiny port were not looking for more crew members, especially ones that looked sketchy, and none of them were good enough at a craft to be hired at a shop, and they were too small a group to be very skillful at banditry in an unfamiliar land. So, the only avenue left for them was to become mercenaries.
Mercenary
At first, the four pirates turned mercenaries, only received odd jobs, like delivering a package to someone in a nearby village or town or dealing with an infestation of vermin. Eventually, they, ironically, got a job to help two members of the city guard,
Verena Tarrant and
Grant MacRae, protect a merchant from bandits while he traveled to
Rine the kingdom of
Ascua's capital. They weren't ambushed by bandits but, they did stop in the town of
Aeredale, where the guardsmen knew the local noble family, during a festival. It was at this festival that Lorenzo first met
Jenevieve Jenna Loren, daughter of a minor lord in the area.
For the next few years, the pirates continued working as mercenaries, slowly saving up all the money they could while Lorenzo did his best to drown his nightmares using alcohol and sex. The few bright spots during this time for Lorenzo were their little group nearly quintupled in size, allowing them to complete more jobs, and he made a number of dear friends including the Grant, Verena, and Jenna. Then, three years after the shipwreck, Evan Loren, Jenna's father, and a number of other nobles attempted to stage a coup and Lorenzo and company found themselves right in the middle of everything.
The fighting was bloody and prolonged but, eventually, the rebellion was put down but not before a great many lost their lives including Jenna's mother and brother and some of Lorenzo's crew. Jenna's mother and brother were killed right at the beginning as they were guests of House Seyward, the first noble house to fall, when the sneak attack that started the coup occurred. Jenna was initially thought to be working with her father but, after extensive defending from Lorenzo, Verena, Grant, and Lorenzo's crew as well as others who Jenna had helped during the fighting, she was absolved.
The crew, despite having been at the right place at the wrong time, were rewarded greatly for helping break the coup and were rewarded further, this time just in positive reputation, when they helped the cities and towns rebuild. During this time, Verena, Grant, and Jenna became unofficial members of the group, to the point that when the pirates left for Rine to purchase a ship, they tagged along as well.
In Rine, their first stop was the
Odyssey Shipyards where the commissioned the building of
The Second Lady's Fortune, with Lorenzo providing specific building instructions to either build or improve upon features that had been present in The Lady's Fortune. However, despite paying for it in full, the shipwrights demanded more due to the work they'd put into it. Returning to their roots, Lorenzo and the pirates, including the three newest members (though they needed a fair bit of convincing, snuck on board their ship and stole it. Once they were in open water, they held a vote for who would be captain and Lorenzo was stunned when he was voted unanimously to be captain of the ship and leader of
The South Sea Corsairs.
Ship Captain
At first, Lorenzo's reputation as a pirate captain did not grow much as they started out plundering smaller vessels close to shore, never striking in the same area more than once every other month. Part of this was due to the crew getting used to the ship and the actual pirates having to convince the morally upstanding members of the crew to attack a ship. Once Lorenzo laid out a code in writing, and made every member of the crew sign it, they began attacking ships more frequently. This code included giving merchant ships a chance to run after firing off a warning shot and letting everyone who surrendered, who also was not a slaver, live.
As whispers and tales of The Second Lady's fortune and her captain spread through taverns and ports throughout the world, Lorenzo began hearing word that the empire that had done him so wrong as a child was possibly weakening. These tales about Braris grew louder and louder as The South Sea Corsairs grew and grew in reputation and slowly members of Lorenzo's crew became captains of their own ships with their own reputations. Eventually, the only person Lorenzo had traveled with after the shipwreck was his now lover Jenna.
Despite their sometimes conflicting personalities; with Jenna being analytical and a bit of a snob and Lorenzo being easy going and promiscuous as well as his hatred for the nobility they had a strong relationship that resulted in them getting married in 799 BRC.
In 797 BRC word reached Lorenzo that two of Braris' territories had successfully gained their independence from The Empire, and more importantly, had repelled the attack from Brarisi forces afterward. With this new knowledge and his friends all commanding fearsome ships of their own, Lorenzo began thinking of how he might bring the empire that gave Antonio his power and influence to its knees. Through talking with his wife and friends, Lorenzo came to realize that unless he could get another powerful nation to attack Braris, he would need the help of nearly every pirate that sailed The Farthest Expanse. And so, Lorenzo and his friends begin approaching the other pirates.
At first, the other pirates dismissed them out of hand, to them there seemed to be no benefit from going to war with the most powerful empire. Still, they persisted, eventually getting a few pirates to listen long enough to explain their whole plan including creating a blockade and the building of a pirate owned city afterward. These few pirates were then able to help them spread the word until finally, the other pirate captains were either willing to listen to the plan in full or help enact the plan. After a long period of explanation of the plan and a laying down of rules the other captains would have to abide by, Lorenzo had forty ship captains and their crews willing to follow him, and from that day forward he would be known as the Pirate King.
Pirate King
With his forty ships and over five thousand men, Lorenzo set sail for the one place he had avoided most of his life: the lands of his childhood. Together, they reigned destruction and terror down on the Brarisi ports, driving away scores of merchant's vessels and sinking scores more during the first few days alone.
While this was going on, Jenna sent word to Courson and Granton, the two kingdoms neighboring the Braris Empire letting them know that the South Sea Corsairs would do their best to avoid attacking their ships so long as they did not pose any threat and that the pirates were willing to do trade with them if they needed to sell goods to someone. She also informed them that they planned on maintaining the sieges and blockade for as long as possible and if either country wanted to attack their long-feared neighbors now would be the best time to do it.
Lorenzo also sent word to the various kingdoms and nations that traded with the Brarisi, that their ships would also be left unharmed so long as they did not engage the pirates first and that the pirates would happily buy or trade goods with them. Though many of these nations who had previously had their ships plundered by Lorenzo and the captains working under him, they took him at his word when he let many of their merchant ships pass through Brarisi Seas on their way to Courson and Granton. Aid came to the pirates in the unexpected form of the Empire's overseas territories when they overthrew the Braris installed government and refused to help their conquerors.
Over the course of two months, the pirates maintained the blockade, repelling four attacks by Brarisi ships that resulted in minimal losses for Lorenzo's forces and devastating losses for the Braris Empire. Each time, Lorenzo made sure the attacking ships were sunk or burned to ash after everything of value was stripped of them. A majority of these goods were then used to pay the pirates not originally from the Southern Sea Corsairs who only joined his cause for the promise of loot and pillaging. The remaining goods were used to trade with the few merchant's vessels who screwed up enough courage to approach the pirates. His own crew, and friends Lorenzo had no need to pay as they knew he would reward them greatly once the siege was over. He did start to worry about the nearly thirty captains who were there solely for riches as eventually the Brarisi would either have no more ships or would send no more out to face them, and Lorenzo would have no means of continually paying these captains. Not unless they engaged in a land conflict the pirates would be disadvantaged in.
Lady luck smiled upon him once more as just when the other captains began getting restless, the combined forces of the Greti and Coursian armies begin attacking Greti and Coursian armies attack the cities on the fringes of the Braris Empire. Within days, half of the Brarisi army is mobilized to fight this new threat leaving force small enough Lorenzo felt confident they could win. So, he orders the ships to enter the harbor and while half begin barraging the fortifications the Brarisi army had built the other half docks and engages the soldiers in physical combat.
The fighting in the docks is short and surprisingly tame due to many Brarisi soldiers being weakened from eating rationed food and many of them surrendering to the pirates on sight. The regular soldiers that surrender have their weapons taken from them and are placed in the brigs of the many ships where they are treated humanely under Lorenzo's threat of keelhauling any pirate who harms them. The commanders on the other hand, while given food and beds are made to reveal what fortifications have been done to the city as well as list the number of men and weapons left in the city.
With this information in hand, Lorenzo's forces move further inland towards the capital Carthago Nova at the same time the Greti and Coursian armies move southwards towards the same location. It's still unknown if what happened next was because Kiriakos Tapalla Atayde was truly afraid of the two forces closing in on him, because he thought he might be able to somehow get out of this alive, or because he was forced to do it by his advisors. But, regardless of the reasons the 23rd Emperor of Braris issues a declaration of surrender.
Lorenzo's forces continued on to the capital, unimpeded thanks to the declaration of surrender and once again Lady Luck smiled upon him as his forces reached the capital before the Greti and Coursian armies did. As such, he was given a few days to settle his men in and begin rounding up nobles before the other armies were at the city's gates. Commanders Isbeil and Calum, of the Coursian and Greti armies respectively, attempted to force the pirates to both give up the capital and the Brarisi nobles to them. In response, Lorenzo had his crew 'escort' the commanders to the tower he had taken residence in and showed the two commanders how, unbeknownst to them, their forces were completely surrounded by the pirates as the only entrance to the city from land was in a valley his pirates had made camp and set traps on either side of. With the threat of their forces being slaughtered hanging over them, the commanders relented and allowed Lorenzo to continue rounding up the nobles.
Once the nobles were all rounded up, Lorenzo forced them to watch as his men tore down the palace and a number of their homes, literally destroying the empire that had given them their unearned power right in front of them. Then, he took the young nobles aside and had his men assign each child who was physically fit the role as cabin boy or girl on one of his ships. When all of the children were gone, he ordered his men to execute the remaining nobles, starting with the Emperor himself. By the time they were done, the town center the executions had taken place was covered in a layer of liquid crimson.
Sanctuary
With the nobility dead, Lorenzo set about claiming the capital for his fleet of pirates. Once again, the commanders attempted to intercede, saying it would be war if they returned to their rulers with news of the pirates taking over the land they coveted for themselves. Lorenzo responded by threatening to create a blockade on their ports if they tried. The commanders must have believed his threats for after they and their armies returned to their own lands, no declaration of war followed.
With the fighting done and having successfully scared the neighboring nations into staying away, for the time being, Lorenzo and his crew turned their attention to rebuilding the Brarisi capital into a new city they called
Sanctuary. A few of the pirate captains who had helped Lorenzo, left his fleet at this time as they hungered for immediate rewards, rather than one that would take a few years to enjoy. The ones who stayed, however, worked tirelessly to build a city they could call home. It took a bit of convincing to get the former Nova citizens to return, as they and their loved ones had been the ones fighting and dying against Lorenzo's forces but, eventually, some were able to be persuaded to return to their farms, homes, and shops.
Over the next few decades, Lorenzo worked tirelessly to build up Sanctuary and continuing in his role as Pirate King. Though he hated thinking of himself as a ruler, under his guidance, the town that once was the Brarisi capital flourished with people from all walks of life, who may or may not have committed crimes, joining the population every day. While there were a few truly bad seeds who Lorenzo dealt with severely, most everyone else was happy to provide their knowledge and experiences to a town that did not adhere to the standard rules of society. Eventually, piracy became too much of a distraction, and he gave captaincy of The Second Lady's Fortune to his eldest daughter,
Karine Rossi, while he stayed in Sanctuary and took care of his people.
Eventually, Lorenzo surrendered even his title to his daughter with her and her siblings taking over in the care for the people of Sanctuary while he and Jenna lived in Sanctuary's version of peace and quiet for the next two decades. On a bright spring day in 747 BRC, Jenna awoke to find her husband had peacefully passed in his sleep at the age of 84.
I have to say this is a very detailed article. More so than most of mine when it comes to characters. Thus that's impressive. The story you wove here was presented well, and despite the article's length, I was entertained to the very end. Well done.