DMs Only: Pirates of Jack
Pirates of Jack
(This document is an old remnant of lore dating back many years ago.)
by The Duke of Swords
Before the Cataclysm invasion, shipping was one of the major industries of Elenna as it was for The Wold at large. It was so beneficial to each local economy, that even the deadliest enemies had reason to trade with one another even through the black market. All was dependent on the shipping industry.
All of this changed when the cataclysm closed the ports of over 90% of the shipping industry. This was exacerbated by the crushing of the great shipping City of Elenna by the flying City of Lankhmar.
Under normal circumstances, the survivors would return to exploration and trade by shipping. The dominance of Aisildur on the southwest corner of the peninsula, though, divided the shoreline into areas both wanting trade, but both prevented for fear of the Aisildurians and their nemesis: the Pirates of Jack.
The Pirates of Jack were formed by Ayorsa and his followers several years after his split with Apricot. Driven north from the capital he arrived at a minor shipping town, when the City of Ilthmar flew in and crushed it. Many ships tied to the single wharf were broken off from the shore and set adrift. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, he made off with the ships and sold their cargo in Lankhmar. There he began to recruit what would become the chaos known as the Pirates of Jack. With 5 ships, they became a target and their behavior caused ports to close whenever the tell-tale 5 ships approached.
Ayorsa, or Jack as he was nicknamed, knew his ships would have to go it alone to continue. He held an election of his pirates and elected 4 captains to lead each ship with Ayorsa taking the 5th ship, full of volunteers, who would look for a safe haven for his people to raise families, rest, and re-equip the ships. He would provide a harbor where families of free-minded people, opposing Ga'al, would live, and work to save Aisildur from itself.
He embarked on a trip to New Elenna and The Windbourne Hills searching in libraries for old maps showing the islands to the west. He needed a secret place where Ga'al could never find them. After 6 years he found what he was looking for in the Floating City. A trio of islands, known as the Floating Islands. A Teucri creation, these islands were used by the Teucri during their migration from legendary lands to the south. The Teucri, evidently, were very susceptible to sea-sickness due to their magical natures.
He set about searching for these islands that floated from location to location. How he located these islands and learned to use them as a base is not known, all information concerning it destroyed or silenced by the pirates for reasons of security.
Important to say, though, he found the 3 islands, divided his pirates amongst them, and began their raids on Aisildur in earnest.
The Aisildurian Emperor, of course, retaliated by patrolling all waters around important cities. When the pirates continued their "bothering," The Emperor Adadeus the Strong, tried a different tactic. He set up a vast spy network and began to identify pirates and post wanted posters. He would demand that the families of the known pirate come forward. Then he would publicly torture the family daily at the city gates until the pirate gave himself up.
Many pirates, considered their families already dead after their joining with the Heartseed, and ignored the situation and thus were hardened. Others recruited help and killed their families to put an end to the torture. Others turned themselves in and were made to be public examples. They were tortured publicly and Psionically probed revealing still more pirates.
Ayorsa responded by taking the islands and boats far from shore for a period of years, figuring that if they heard no news, his pirates couldn't suffer. Here they also made some serious changes in their strategies in preparation of their return. They hired some psionicists so that those pirates who were desiring to protect their families could by having their memories of them blocked or even totally removed from their memories. Not every pirate was willing to make that sacrifice, but many did. They also hired and recruited alchemists to develop different types of potions and powders to protect the pirates interests.
Poison powder capsules were developed to be taken before the torture could begin. Potions to block magical and psionic mind affecting attacks to keep pirate secrets safe and thus the pirates families safe. They also formed their most grim strategy: a group of adventurers, known as the Grim Assassins, who would go ashore and assassinate families of pirates being tortured before the pirate(s) involved could give themselves up. These brave souls even went to the extreme of submitting themselves to the pirate of the family killed, giving the pirate the choice of judging them for their actions and taking any punishment the pirate in his grief demanded.
Then came the attacks from the Aisildurian Navy. Given the reprieve from the pirates, the navy had rebuilt itself stronger than before. The priests had learned how to find the islands by magical means. These years are known by the Aisildurians as the Pirate Wars and by the pirates as Ayorsa's Revenge.
The first island, known to the pirates as Apricot Island, was attack by the Emperor's Navy and many pirates and their families were killed. The second island was warned, however.
Unknown to most, Ayorsa had been suffering of late from a magical disease he had received from a faulty potion of Mental Strength. He was a latent Wild Talent and should not have taken the potion. The disease was very contagious to other psionicists and mages. Since the entire Emperor's Navy was magically enhanced with the Heartseed, they were all susceptible to the disease.
When the Emperor's Fleet approached Ayorsa Island, Ascariot, the son of Ayorsa had the fleet leave his father alone to buy their freedom with his life.
Nearing death, Ayorsa accelerated the disease by dousing another of the deadly potions and surrendered demanding of the Emperor's Navy that he be allowed to surrender also to the emperor in person for his sins. The ceremonial symbol for surrender was to kiss the feet of your conqueror. So Ayorsa insisted on kissing the feet of every sailor in the Emperor's Fleet in return for the safety of his men. Thus he spread the disease to every sailor killing over half of them before landfall.
Taken to the Emperor, he passed the disease on to the inner court killing many nobles. He was then turned over to the priests who discovered Ayorsa's condition and ordered his public torture and execution. During the night, The Grim Assassins performed their duty: a poison dart in the neck of a smiling Ayorsa, his revenge complete.
With the Emperor's Navy sick and dying, the attacks were called off and the pirates were left alone for a time.
To this day, pirates are never allowed to kiss the feet of their conquerors due to the fear that they still carry the disease.
The morning after the Grim Assassins killed Ayorsa, his body was found missing. That same morning, a man calling himself Jack appeared on his ship on the captain's deck leading an assault that destroyed two bridges leading to Pyramid Island from Capitol City. He looked just like Jack had looked when he was young. He carried himself the same, had the same bearing and determination. The pirates called it a miracle and fought like demons taking down 3 of the Emperor's ships in their getaway. Any pirate who has ever asked for an explanation has been flattened by his betters.
Thus has Jack in his many manifestations and renewals led the Pirates of Jack till this day, hoping and fighting for the freedom they desire for the people of Aisildur.
Later Note By Cayzle: Recent events in Aisildur may make some of this information obsolete. The royal family of Aisildur has moved away from the theocrats. All the heartseeds of Aisildur were destroyed when the Mother Heartseed was recently destroyed. Etc.
