#limsa lominsa's most notorious pirate ship

[cantspelldragoonwithoutgoon]

due to recent seasonal events we're here (again)

please fam

she's experiencing physical pain

you dense mf

Eclaire @ Carvallain, at any given time In headcanon-verse she's been watching this soap opera for like... a decade. please just kiss and let her continous headache end.

[sugar-rush-monk]

208

It was always at dawn that the first ship out to Stormvault set off from Limsa Lominsa. They ran on a tight schedule, as could be expected of a navy vessel. It would return that afternoon, then again in the evening. Each trip would bring guards returning to the city from the prison, or departing for their shift. The Maelstrom seemed to rotate soldiers on and off duty at Stormvault, the faces coming and going changing every moon. 

The Sergeant among the soldiers leaving for Stormvault that morning didn't stand out to anyone else there. Most of them selected for duty were petty officers. Captains were put on a permanent posting at the prison. When she boarded the ship, nobody took mind of her. 

As she passed two Privates, she heard a small sample of their conversation. 

“--always wanted to get this assignment.” said the eager one. 

“What?!” Replied his jaded companion. “Why the Seven Hells would you want this?”

“They say Stormvault holds some of the most notorious pirates to ever sail!” The eager Private told the other. “Want to see it for myself. It's sort of like a piece of history.

“Gobshite. Place is depressing, trust me. My third rotation, this. It's dark, damp. The screams are one thing, but it's the crying at night that's really awful.”

The Sergeant continued on until she found a less inhabited part of the deck. She turned and looked out at the water. Distantly, she could see Murktide Island, a small speck of land out on the horizon. A tower stuck out of it like a splinter. What the eager Private had not realized, was that the most notorious inmates of Stormvault did not stay there long. Soon enough they were brought before the gallows. Those who were not subject to that fate, were the ones judged to have committed less severe crimes. They would be the ones locked inside for years. 

Soon after the Sergeant boarded, the ship set sail for the prison. It was not a long journey, but she stayed to herself throughout, until nearly half a bell later, when the island drew upon them. No longer a needle on the horizon, the prison towered over them. The twenty levels within held the population of prisoners behind locks and traps. 

As the ship pulled into the harbor, the guards aboard began to congregate on the deck. The Sergeant stayed at the back of the group, watching the others. None had taken any notice of her, she was one of them. They didn't pay enough attention to question whether they recognized her or not.

They disembarked as a group and made their way through the docks, then up into a walled-in courtyard. The prison stood at the other side of it. At least a dozen soldiers already inhabited the courtyard when the group arrived. It was here that they began to splinter, breaking off to report to where their orders had instructed. 

The Sergeant followed the biggest group into the tower. They would lead her up three levels, and eventually, into the barracks. All the while she drifted behind, enough to remain unnoticed by them. When they reached the room, the Sergeant finally stopped following. She began to walk the room, her gaze sweeping over it, searching for anything that might be useful to her. Eventually she found it, in the form of a board on the wall, which displayed dozens of itemized names. The names were divided sections, labeled as L2, L3, L4 - all the way up to L20. 

The Sergeant read over the board intently for a while, until finally finding the name she was looking for. They were designated Prisoner 208, on Level 12. Committing the information to memory, the Sergeant left the barracks. Not far from there, she was lucky enough to find a lift. She boarded and ascended up the prison, until arriving at L12. She got off and chose a corridor at random to begin her search. 

For a while she walked the floor, until she came upon the cells. Most were occupied. Many of the prisoners ignored her. A few yelled at her as she walked by, but the attempts to spook her failed. The cells were labeled, speeding her search up. Eventually she found the cell marked 208. The Sargeant stopped in front of the cell. 

The man inside was as dirty and disheveled as the rest of the prisoners. His hair had grown long and tangled, his beard untamed and filthy. The clothes he wore had been reduced to tattered rags, and his glasses were tied together by a small scrap of cloth. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure…?” He asked from within. The question was dry and bitter. “My bathroom ‘privileges’ aren't for another two bells.”

The Sergeant stood on the other side of the bars, watching him. Finally she asked, “Edric Fiske?” 

Prisoner 208, Edric Fiske, surveyed the Sergeant from behind his damaged glasses. He replied to the inquiry, “You're not with the Maelstrom. Who are you?”

“... I wanted to meet you.” The Sergeant said. Her voice was gentle, soft. 

“Disguising yourself as a guard and breaking into a Maelstrom prison is a long way to go to meet me.”

A smile grew on the Sergeant's face, long and toothy. There was something Edric Fiske immediately did not like about it. The Sergeant slowly reached out and wrapped her fingers around one of the cell bars. 

“There's a woman who watches this place. Did you know that? Every so often, she comes out to the cliffs by Moraby Drydocks… And watches. Sometimes for bells.”

“And this should interest me why?”

The smile on the Sergeant grew. It made Fiske uneasy. She tilted her head a bit, as though attempting to be playful, but it only added to her unsettling manner. 

“Because this woman had an office, and inside that office, she had an old article from the Harbor Herald. One about you, Edric.” She pointed her finger at him through the bars with a little flourish. “When you lost everything. When they caught you and put you in here.” the Sergeant pulled back and began running a finger across the bars thoughtfully. “Now why would Mashi Olobi have that?”

Fiske's face showed only the briefest twitch of reaction when he heard the name. He retained his composure, even now, even after years in this squalor. 

“I would imagine as a momento, to fondly look back on the sun she and her daughter spent quality time together.” Fiske replied sardonically. 

The Sergeant clicked her tongue and shook her head slowly, all the while her eyes boring into him and that unnatural grin remaining. “No, no, no, Edric…. No, this is deeply personal, this thing between you two, isn't it?” She squinted at him and shook her head one more time. “She did this to you, didn't she? You were ruthless. Taking what you wanted, putting down any threat or obstacle in the way. You had the strength to do what others couldn't. Then she came along - and her daughter. They destroyed it all, got you locked away in here. Now she watches you, like a guard dog. Ready to rip your face off the moment you try anything.”

Fiske fell silent, but his eye contact and composure did not falter. She knew more about him than he realized. She was assembling pieces she had already had. 

“What do you want?” He asked again, plain and blunt. 

The Sergeant leaned in a little and said to him, hushed, “I can get you out of here, Edric. I can tell you where to find her. Where to find her children, her children's children, and everyone they care for along the way. With my help… you can punish her.”

There was a long pause between them. Somewhere deeper on Level 12, a rhythmic drip could be heard. Edric Fiske stood up slowly and crossed his cell. He stopped at the bars, inches away from the woman posing as a soldier. 

His voice cold, he told her, “You have until the count of ten to get out of my sight, before I call the real guards.” After a pause, he began, “One.”

The Sergeant stepped away from the bars, but she continued to smile. Her eyes did not leave his, not yet, and he would not break first, no matter how much her gaze unnerved him. 

“Two.”

She turned and swiftly set off down the corridor again. Her footsteps carried lightly, soon fading away as she fell behind a corner. 

Fiske steadied his breathing and took his glasses off. He walked back to the bed, as he made a poor attempt to clean them with his dirty shirt. As he lowered back onto the mattress, he put his glasses back on. 

His hand was shaking. 

[desertleviathan]

The Amaranthine Maw Pirates

So I have a little FC on Sargatanas Server that's currently just a place to park my alts, and in the process of developing them all I've embroidered their backstories together until they're all part of the same Sky Pirate crew.

The original Amaranthine Maw crew operated under Captain R'kshasa Nunh, and at the time were as notorious as the Bloody Executioners, the Sanguine Sirens, or any of the other great pirate companies of Limsa Lominsa, past or present. When R'kshasa decided it was time to retire, he unexpectedly bypassed his oldest son for promotion, and named his Hyur master-at-arms the new captain of the Amaranthine Maw's dread ship, the Mako. This was not without controversy, but the majority of the crew opted to stick around under the new captain, Siege Zabac.

Keep reading below the cut for crew portraits and biographical summaries.

NAME: Siege Zabac RANK: Captain ANCESTRY: Hyur Highlander PRIMARY JOB: Siege is at the level cap with All Jobs and Classes, but Dragoon, Monk, Machinist, Red Mage, Gunbreaker, Sage, Fisher, and Culinarian have received extra attention. I expect Viper to join that list in 7.0 PLACE OF ORIGIN: Ala Ghiri, Ala Mhigo

Captain Siege Zabac is, in my timeline, the canon Warrior of Light, Champion of Eorzea, Victor of the Dragonsong War, Liberator of Doma and Ala Mhigo, Savior of Etherys, and so on.

He is also a former pirate, and kind of an unapologetic dirtbag. Not a bad guy, just... not a great respecter of laws, governments, and the unspoken codes of polite society. His overall vibe is like your weird uncle who's not allowed to babysit any more because he kept taking you across state lines to buy illegal fireworks. A dude who lives life in such a way that he knows all the cops at county lockup by first name.

His original tenure as a pirate captain lasted only a handful of years before destiny took him by the scruff of the neck and set him on another path. During the Battle of Carteneau, Siege took the Mako into Imperial-controlled waters nearby to try to sink as many supply ships as possible. The Mako racked up quite a kill count, before a fragment of Dalamud capsized it. Only a handful of crew members survived, and Siege himself washed ashore days later, unconscious but still gripping the splintered remains of the Mako's wheel.

Once he recovered he took up Adventuring as a profession, lacking the funds or skills to do much else, and then the events of the MSQ from 2.0 on happened to him (aside from a few minor personal deviations from canon).

And now? The star is mostly safe. The Scions are mostly disbanded. And Siege has the money and contacts to maybe get a new ship. But not a sailing ship, he has no intention of spitting directly on Merlwyb's edict. This time it'll be a Sky Ship. The second Mako is gonna fly, baby!

At Siege's side, the Major General is the Mako's beloved mascot, a bipedal amphibious shark that the Captain fished up one day and decided to keep as a pet.

NAME: R'khsana Jannat RANK: First Mate ANCESTRY: Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te PRIMARY JOB: Viper looks like it was made for her. SECONDARY JOBS: Bard, White Mage, Weaver, Fisher PLACE OF ORIGIN: Limsa Lominsa, literally born on board the original Mako

When R'kshasa Nunh passed over his eldest son to promote Siege to captain, R'jannat Tia took as many crew members as he could get to follow him and left to try to start his own rival crew. It didn't go well. R'jannat was a hell of a capable administrator, but was too cautious for the buccaneering lifestyle. Before long, R'jannat reconciled with his father and admitted that it was the right call, and eventually succeeded R'kshasa as Nunh, taking over stewardship of the clan's extensive holdings in the Cieldalaes. And, incidentally, becoming the lawful owner of the Mako, even if Siege continued to command it.

R'kshana is R'jannat's eldest daughter, and the one most like her legendary grandfather in temperament and ability. She can out-sail, out-swashbuckle, out-plunder, and out-drink damn near anyone, and the only reason she hasn't assumed command of her own ship yet is that she's still in her early 20's. Even someone with such undeniable talent has to put in the time to climb the ranks.

When Siege approached R'jannat about getting a second Mako afloat, one of R'jannat's conditions was that his daughter get the chance to prove herself as the second in command. R'khsana serves Siege with the expectation that some day soon, probably very soon, the Captain is going to get himself killed by his penchant for dashing off to clash with every apocalyptic hell-creature that rises up to threaten the world. She admires Siege and admits that she's got a lot to learn from the veteran Pirate, but she still considers herself more than ready to take over when he finally sails his last voyage. Any day now.

NAME: Griever Strzygasch RANK: Quartermaster ANCESTRY: Lost Hrothgar PRIMARY JOB: Gunbreaker SECONDARY JOBS: Summoner, Scholar, Blacksmith, Miner PLACE OF ORIGIN: Bozja

An old smuggler who's been sailing for longer than most of the rest of the crew has been alive, Griever insists that he's officially "too old for all of this", but it's impossible to imagine him actually retiring.

Griever and Siege first met when Siege was on the run from the Garlean VIIth Legion. An unwilling conscript, Siege took the Bozja Citadel Disaster (and his miraculous survival) as an opportunity to run, and Griever took pity on him and helped him get off the mainland. Griever kept Siege around as a crewman on his smuggling ship for a while, then recommended him to another crew. Their paths continued to cross, and when Griever took work as a boatswain on the Mako, he recommended his old pal for the Master-At-Arms post.

Just because Griever and Siege have such a long friendship doesn't mean Griever is in the Captain's pocket, though. The Quartermaster's primary job is to account for the finances and supplies of the ship and see that they're used effectively. So while Griever falls third in the line of command on board, he answers equally to R'jannat Nunh and the new Mako's other financiers, and serves as a check on the captain's more outlandish impulses. After losing on ship to adventure, Siege insisted that Griever take an almost adversarial posture in this role, and Griever is the kind of man who takes that sort of duty very seriously.

NAME: Penitent Cormorant RANK: Chaplain ANCESTRY: Hellsguard Roegadyn PRIMARY JOB: Monk SECONDARY JOBS: Black Mage, Dark Knight, Goldsmith, Miner PLACE OF ORIGIN: A village in Abalathia's Spine

Sailors and superstition seem to go together like rum and hangovers even in mundane seas, and the waters of Etherys are anything but. It's common for even the most rowdy crew of scoundrels to have a priest on board to keep abreast of all the curses and taboos that will agitate local spirits, oversee the rituals inevitably needed to calm them back down, and if all else fails provide direction to the crew on how to defeat a hostile specter by force.

Penitent is the best of the best, and served in this capacity on the original Mako. It was also on the original Mako that she and the young master-at-arms Siege Zabac were briefly, tempestuously married. She left the crew and ended the relationship several months before the Mako was lost. No one's sure what arrangement they came to in order to get her back on the crew, but they are definitely not back together in any kind of romantic capacity.

NAME: Lunaticia Cerise (an obvious pseudonym) RANK: Master-At-Arms ANCESTRY: Hyur Highlander PRIMARY JOB: Red Mage SECONDARY JOBS: Reaper, Warrior, Leatherworker, Botanist PLACE OF ORIGIN: Kugane, Hingashi

Luna is a wild child, and it's become kind of a personal project for the Captain to try to train her to be a valuable crew member. She tells a lot of improbable stories, but these parts of her alleged origins seem to hold up to scrutiny - that her mother was a Hingashi noblewoman and her father a Garlean officer attached to the consulate, that the two of them fled to the protection of the Ruby Sea Confederacy in order to be together without their respective governments interfering, and that she got ejected from the same Confederacy despite being raised from birth among them for being too dangerous and unruly.

Siege probably wouldn't have put in the effort to try to sand off her rough edges except for two things. First, Luna is on the very short list of people who can give him a challenge in the sparring ring, and skill like that doesn't turn up every day. Second, Luna has the Echo.

When she joined the crew she was basically on probation, but she's slowly learning to reign in her worst impulses, and it's not lost on her that the Captain has trusted her with the position of master-at-arms, the very same rank he held on the original Mako before he became Captain. In this role she leads the charge on boarding actions, ensures that the Mako's arsenal is well-tended to and ready for service, and sees to the combat training of less-experienced crew members. And she's good at it. Great even! At least, when she can reign in her temper and focus her attention.

NAME: Lockpix Burglebanks RANK: Chief Engineer ANCESTRY: Dunesfolk Lalafell PRIMARY JOB: Machinist SECONDARY JOBS: Ninja, Armorer, Miner, and hopefully the new Caster DPS job in Dawntrail will be a good fit, just to maintain 3 jobs per character. PLACE OF ORIGIN: Ul'dah, presumably

Years ago a group of goblin scavengers found a lalafell baby in the wreckage of a carriage that had been attacked by bandits. When they tried to return the infant to the city, they weren't able to even get within shouting distance of the walls before a hail of arrows and thaumaturgy greeted them. So they decided to raise the child as one of their own.

Lockpix is a genuine mechanical genius, an engineer on par with Cid Garlond or Nero Scaeva. But his particular area of interest has historically been crime, inventing a plethora of weird little gadgets to bypass magical, technological, and mundane security.

Lockpix was the third crew member R'jannat suggested to Siege, both because the engines of the skyship Mako were going to be that much more complex than those of its sailing predecessor, and because Sky Piracy is a profession that runs into sophisticated technical problems with greater frequency than its sea-based counterpart. All Siege had to do to recruit this brilliant young technician was spring Lockpix from jail first.

NAME: Usul Haragin RANK: Navigator ANCESTRY: Xaela Au Ra PRIMARY JOB: Dragoon SECONDARY JOBS: Astrologian, Paladin, Carpenter, Botanist PLACE OF ORIGIN: The Azim Steppe

Any member of the Mako's crew can pick up a map and chart a course, as just a basic level of proficiency. What Usul does is beyond that. He senses the aether of the winds and waves, of the stars above and the depths below, and has an unfailing sense of his place in the universe in relation to these forces. If Siege asked for a course to the depths of the Seven Hells and back, Usul would find it.

The Haragin Xaaela are just like that, but even among a tribe of renowned wayfarers, Usul was seen as something special. When he took his boat to sea one night and didn't return, the only thing that surprised the rest of his village was that he'd taken so long. In this case he was waiting for a vision, and with it a destination. The tides of fate were drawing him to offer his services to the savior of the world, he knew that much.

What Usul didn't expect was that he would arrive after the greatest threat was already vanquished, and wind up helping the Hero of the Star by helming his pirate ship. He's sticking with it for now because something tells him there are other threats beyond the horizon, but for now Usul is not terribly pleased with the path fate has put him on.

NAME: Pandora Jarnvidr RANK: Doctor ANCESTRY: Rava Viera PRIMARY JOB: Sage SECONDARY JOBS: Samurai, Dancer, Alchemist, Botanist PLACE OF ORIGIN: A forest village whose name no one else even remembers now

R'kshasa Nunh had seven wives, but only one of them outlived him. Pandora never bore him any children, but she cared for him in his waning years, then returned to the study of medical magic that had consumed the bulk of her long life, aside from her all too brief tenure as a Bride of the Pirate King. Technically this makes her one of R'khsana's grandmothers, but... not really? Miqo'te families can be complicated.

Pandora is nearly three hundred years old, but she's still driven by the memory of the plague that eradicated her childhood home, a catastrophe of which she was the sole survivor. She has studied the healing arts with multiple cultures, and even lectured for some time as a professor at the Studium in Sharlayan, although she never took the time out of her studies to obtain the rank of Archon.

Siege was not able to convince her to join his pirate crew. Siege was able to convince her to keep a field office on his pirate ship, because pirates tend to accumulate frequent and novel injuries, and at this stage of Pandora's research she craves field data more than anything else. Officially she is a civilian passenger. Just... a civilian passenger who is treated in all ways by the crew as Chief Medical Officer, including her de facto position in the chain of command. And a civilian passenger who has been observed to not be too picky about using her nouliths to blast monsters with surgical-grade lasers, if it seems like a fight is getting out of hand.