- Joined
- Feb 2, 2013
ooLife was good on the sea, where the air was brisk and the the warm tropic sun beat down upon the glimmering waves. From Singapore to Dutch territories the rolling ocean was fat with merchant ships, and French and English governors alike were glad to dispense the title of privateer to any with a vessel and the men to steer it towards foreign waters. Strong-armed men, tan of skin and beaten by wave and storm into the rugged shape of masculinity, some young and others grizzled by a veteran's service to the tempestuous sea. They were a sort not seen before or due to be seen again in history, free-spirited above all others, for the yoke of the Navy was cruel indeed and inspired a certain camaraderie, a democratic ideal in those who bucked it off, similar to the code of the musketeers- All for one, and one for all.
ooIt wasn't without cause that such scoundrels were the sordid topic of penny dreadfuls and bodice rippers sold in any port you might care to name, or that the thought of being swept away in a pirate's arms had given more than one comely governer's daughter a fit of the vapors. More than one rapscallion had made himself a better name as a lover than a fighter, and some ships acquired such a pedigree that to sail on them was a badge of honor, the life aboard a tale to bring free drinks and the attention of adventurous ladies.
ooThe Sea Witch's Plow had it's own reputation, perhaps not as glamorous. The galleon had been English, until the crew threw off that collar by common purpose for a life as a privateer - falling in first with the French in the colonies, then the Dutch in fighting other privateers to keep the trade routes clear, then no master at all when the birth of a certain drunken reputation brought them too much infamy for any side to hire. They had, after all, completely forgotten who's side they were on and burned the wrong ships.
ooNow they found themselves employed by private company in smuggling cargo, on lean pay and leaner spirits. A month on the water now and a hold full of liquor, so close yet untouchable by terms of contract, forced to forsake landings and the hedonistic release of shore leave, even avoiding the tender vessels who's paths they crossed under the white flag. There was a tension fit to snap, the need for liquor or women or both that could fully consume a man's mind, with only the fear of the crossing ahead to focus them- For now they sailed the Strait of Teeth, where slumbered the great leviathans of the sea slumbered, where ghost-ridden ships prowled the mists, and where sirens sang men overboard into the hungry sea.
ooIt wasn't without cause that such scoundrels were the sordid topic of penny dreadfuls and bodice rippers sold in any port you might care to name, or that the thought of being swept away in a pirate's arms had given more than one comely governer's daughter a fit of the vapors. More than one rapscallion had made himself a better name as a lover than a fighter, and some ships acquired such a pedigree that to sail on them was a badge of honor, the life aboard a tale to bring free drinks and the attention of adventurous ladies.
ooThe Sea Witch's Plow had it's own reputation, perhaps not as glamorous. The galleon had been English, until the crew threw off that collar by common purpose for a life as a privateer - falling in first with the French in the colonies, then the Dutch in fighting other privateers to keep the trade routes clear, then no master at all when the birth of a certain drunken reputation brought them too much infamy for any side to hire. They had, after all, completely forgotten who's side they were on and burned the wrong ships.
ooNow they found themselves employed by private company in smuggling cargo, on lean pay and leaner spirits. A month on the water now and a hold full of liquor, so close yet untouchable by terms of contract, forced to forsake landings and the hedonistic release of shore leave, even avoiding the tender vessels who's paths they crossed under the white flag. There was a tension fit to snap, the need for liquor or women or both that could fully consume a man's mind, with only the fear of the crossing ahead to focus them- For now they sailed the Strait of Teeth, where slumbered the great leviathans of the sea slumbered, where ghost-ridden ships prowled the mists, and where sirens sang men overboard into the hungry sea.