Pirates, The Life of Sailing and Stealing

Fortune Favors the Infamous

In this life, there are only two ways to get coin: honest work, and stealing. Some would argue stealing is also honest work, but in the end people commit robbery because its so much easier to take what someone else has. For as long as there have been laws, there has been the bandit; and as long as there has been ships, there have been pirates. Pirates are brave men and women, criminals all no matter how tragic their origin, that take to the seas to steal and plunder. They favor fast and manuverable ships to get into range of their prey, let loose cannon volleys, and then steal all thats valuable before leaving just as soon as they arrived.
However, the pirating world is quite complicated indeed as opposed to the rugged simplicity of the bandit. Pirates are people of the oceans, and as such come with all the superstitions and folklore of such places. They see omens in the stars, bad luck in the storms, and speak of ancient fables of undead captains and long gone admirals that left behind treasure. They speak of Ivlena cursing those that don't worship her, of shark gods and gods of other damnable creatures, of monsters the size of stars lurking beneath the water, and of horrors and plunder located in places no sane man dare go. This leads to many assuming most pirates are utterly deranged and crazy. In truth, many are, but how could one not be crazy to live their life out in the seas and survive in such a beautifully terrifying place.
Pirates are criminals, however criminals can occasionally have their uses. It is not uncommon or unheard of for nations to do buisness with these pirates. Many noble famalies employ pirates on occasion if they need something found, or need something moved that they'd rather not have their fingerprints on. Sometimes, pirates are hired as Corsairs, being given a written notice by a crown that they shall be allowed to plunder and pillage any ship they come across, so long as it is not the allies of the crown. However, make no mistake that these are temporary alliances at best, and many stories end with pirates turning on their former employers and making off with treasure and gold aplenty.
With this in mind, one must think the pirate life is one of infinite greed and backstabbing. While it is a greedy world for sure, one would be surprised to know there is order in this chaos. Crews are payed fairly and equally, and captains are typically voted on by a crew. Captains must therefore strive to show themselves as larger than life, and lead the crew in the midst of battle and danger to show they are worth the title and extra share of loot. Logistics become a winding dance that quartermasters must play, terms of contract for crew members detailing what shall happen if injured and how long they may serve aboard the vessel. Stealing others shares is dealt with violently and harshly, and there is law and expected code for even these deranged criminals to follow. In the midst of the chaos of sea, the pirate is a being of perplexing order and chaos, somehow finding a bizzare harmony.
So it is, that since the early dawn of sailing, that the pirates have terorized the seas. Be it from the dreaded Ryker Island, the Xubian Enclaves, or the tall tales of the infamous Pirate Wars, the pirate is a constant source of worry for merchants and sailors. However, such a life is not without benifits, for one will find drink and companionship aplenty. Above all however, is the hint of gold and riches beyond counting just out of reach. This greed drives men and women alike to stagger forward in an endless quest to find these fabaled buried treasures, and become something greater than immortal: to become infamous.

Type

Illicit