Eduardo El Draqo

Born as little more than the son of a fisherman in the highly religious nation of the Valdez, Eduardo was first recorded as active in crime at a young age; during which time he was detained for pickpocketing offences. Soon after he joined a merchant adventurers company based out of the Free-Cities of Luska and took the high seas on a ship known as ‘Fortune's Favour’.

Some time later, he was reported to be engaged in piratical and smuggling activities on the cost of Rjiluund, during which time - as a young man - he was detained, and then bailed by a merchant company from a provincial jail house. Securing passage on a new vessel, he rose to the rank of Captain through a mixture of strength and of guile, before turning his ship, a simple Galleass, into one of the most feared vessels on the Trevastian Seas.

For some time he vanished off the map, mere rumours of a ‘Ship with Blood Red Sails’ laying waste to fleets of merchantmen off the Boterim Coast, only to vanish once again into the smoke and mists. He became known as ‘El Draqo’, and upon his return to Trevastine Shores, headed to the Pirate Kingdom, claiming a title of Pirate-Lord. He moved down into the lands of the Cassian Dynasty during their conflict with the Galathions, claiming a bounty of ships and gold from their enemies, and has remained as a Privateer in their employ ever since.


Key History

What follows are they key aspects of the Pirate Lords history, namely key feats and achievements. This section does not go into detail around his rather unremarkable childhood, instead focusing on events that would most likely be common knowledge.

The Mutiny
One of his earliest achievements saw the young pirate take control of his master's ship, executing a daring mutiny on the decks of the vessel, which culminated in him hanging the flayed corpse of the former captain and his officers from the main mast of the ship; wherein the skull of the captain still resides.

Raiding Valdez
Soon after assuming the mantle of Captain, the young Pirate had to ensure the loyalty of his men in the best way - money. Turning ‘Dragon’ south, he headed for the coasts of the Valdez, which he knew well from his childhood. Executing a series of blinding raids on the Valdez fleet, which was at harbour, he stole a great many ships and a great quantity of gold before making quick his escape.

During this time he is known to have placed the main, well - only - port in Valdez to the torch, invading the town at the dead of night and destroying its sole guard ship, before looting the town for just shy of a week before the reinforcements from the Valdez armed forces arrived. By the time the King Ferdinand the IV saw the Pirate Lord, he and his crew were busy sailing off, catapulting the heads of the Cities nobles back at the shore.

Murder at Merov
With his lust for plunder growing yet further, the Pirate Lord took his fleet across the sea to the Lands of the Merov dynasty, seeking fresh quarry and loot for his men and his coffers. He was not to be disappointed, and with a veritable glut of ships for the taking, he personally lead dozens of raids on Merev traders and minor settlements.

Of course, the Royalty of Merov found themselves not so easily cowed into submission by some waterways bandit, and took revenge in a more subtle manner than the Pirate was used to. Spies sent across the lands to seek knowledge of Eduardos family, should he have any, soon found out he had a daughter - merely eight years of age, hidden under a fake name in the Valdez lands, mother long since dead or forgotten.

She was taken in the dead of night by Merov snatchers, evidence left that she had died in the attempt, and the smuggled to a foster family on the island of Routaille. Upon hearing the news, so songs say, ‘The Dragon flew into such fury, that waters did teem and boil at his rage’. Taking his flagship, alone, he sailed for the Merov coast and in a series of brutal raids placed several villages and ships to the torch, butchering every man, woman and child who refused to part with the name of his daughters presumed killer.

The knew nothing, for indeed - there nought to know.

The Merovs however, desired this feud to end and did their best to harry him from their shores - to little avail. It was indeed to be a quirk of fate that drove Eduardo on to waters new - rumours of a lone courier reached his ears, and his attacked the small vessel at sea, which merely turned and lead him directly into the path of a vast Boteri patrol.

Eduardo maintains to this day, that his ship broke speed records in its ‘retrograde advance’.

To Kill a King
Naturally, the Monarch of the Valdez, Ferdinand - was not one to suffer such insults lightly however, and soon took to the waves to track the Pirate down, coming across him in the free state of Aladin. Unable to declare war on such a state, the King took to foot and met the Pirate in the harbour, demanding that he come peacefully and face his punishment.

Responding that ‘’he would rather face the gallows than die in Valdez’’ the Pirate, unaware that what he had just said did not make any sense at all, ordered his men to cheer and encourage him in the usual manner, as he threw down the gauntlet and declared a dual. Fighting with only his boot knife, he disarmed the encumbered monarch, and broke his blade - taking the broken sword with him, where it remains mounted on his cabin wall.

Kidnap in Luska
Practically driven out of the Valdez shipping lanes by his actions, and rather seeking to escape the noose than embrace it openly, Eduardo ran to the northern reaches of the sea to attack the merchant fleets of the Luskan Free States. Over the period of just shy a year, he took a great bounty in ships and prisoners, before coming across a slight merchant vessel containing within its hold a man of great import.

Attacking the ship when it was caught lacking the favour of the wind, the target attempted to appear nondescript, a light vessel fit more for transit than war. It was to be useless, and after disabling the ship's rudder with a well placed bolt, Eduardo sent his men aboard, many of his ordinary crew being slashed down by what turned out to be highly trained marines of the Luskan Guard.

Taking to combat himself, he and his officers forced their way through the marines, and soon found themselves vastly outclassed. Seizing his moment, the Captain took a young man - who would turn out to be none other than King Velizar himself, the leader of Luska, and ordered the marines to surrender. Whilst the king is presumed dead, he is actually under lock and key in a remote island fort controlled by Eduardo.

Boterim Blues
Aware that he was rapidly becoming one of the most wanted men in Trevast, the Pirate fled across the sea to start raiding the lands of the Boterim. He took many slave ships out in their transit back to their ports, before retreating in the face of the military fleet of the Boteri - which he claims was ‘the largest damn thing I saw since that woman in Adrinvil.’.

Fleeing back across the sea, and vowing never to return to the seas of the Boteri unless it was with an armada at his back, Eduardo did manage to deal one final insult to the Shahs of the Great Boteri Empire, and stole a map to some of their more remote settlements - places he raids every now and then to free slaves and men of the pits to welcome to his crew.

Luskan Lies
Soon returning to the lands of Trevast, he swore a year's service as a Privateer to the State of Luska, tracking down wayward merchant ships and bringing them to justice at the hand of the Guilds. He managed to sink just over thirty ships in the space of a year, returning their holds and loot to the Luskans, minus his fee of course - so that it could be put to better use.

Pirate Lordship
With his fame growing every further, Eduardo set his eyes on the seat of one of the weakest Pirate Lords, and ambushed the man at sea - his considerable fleet surrounding the vessel so that he could board and claim the Pirate Lords crown for his own. Slaying the Lord in single combat, he took his sword and symbol of office, and reportedly walked into the Pirate Council's meeting hall, in full session, took his seat, and pretended as if nothing had happened.

Scourge of the Seas
Since becoming a pirate lord some three years before the Galation and Cassian conflict, ‘El Draqo’ has lead a long and prosperous career, harrying merchant vessels from most Trevastian States; and fostering his reputation to such an extent that it is not uncommon for the crews of small merchantmen to jump overboard rather than face him on the waves.

With rumours in local alehouses that he is the ‘Son of the Devil’ and ‘Unkillable’ (all of which obviously are false), he has gone to considerable lengths to ensure his fearsome reputation is upheld - ensuring to always leave at least one ‘loyalist’ survivor on every ship he takes or sinks, preferably one to have witness to flaying and burning of the fallen ships officers, and the release of their crew unharmed (if they surrendered).

Personality
Following years under the mast, the Captains personality has been affected by those he has met, killed, robbed and betrayed. Known as a bugger for the bottle, with a fierce temper that is at odds with his classical good looks, he is renowned for his cruelty toward those who double cross him, but oddly for his compassion toward his crew and those who serve well.

In combat he is feared for his psychoticism, fighting with terrifying speed, often with a cutlass or two axes. Is enjoys fostering his reputation, and is frequently known to burn his victims alive and then hang them from the front of his ship.

Description
Eduardo is a towering brute of a man, stocked with muscles born of a lifetime at sea. He is a caucasian, but with skin worn by the weather of the seas. Black Hair, and a Great beard adorns his face. He is festooned in tattoos and jewels.

Skills & Abilities
Eduardo is a highly skilled swordsman, with Swordplay being one of his main skills. He also has a considerable skill at the command of fleets and ships, and thus Naval Command is counted within his remit of talents. Of course, thanks to his lifelong time before the mast he has considerable personal Resilience to injury and wounds, as well as being of stable footing.

Equipment
Eduardo is known to be highly skilled with a Cutlass, and carries it with him at all times. Alongside this he has become infamous for his proficiency with thrown weapons, and carries a belt of throwing knives, some eight in total across his chest, with one across the back of his belt. Additionally he makes use of two hatchets in confined spaces, and wears the traditional ‘uniform’ of a Pirate, namely a great leather long coat, and tricorn hat. He does not use armour in any sense of the word.











One of the infamous Pirate Fleets, the Draqo Fleet finds its base of operations within the Pirate Kingdom itself, in a bay known as the ‘Bay of the Dragon’ and is famed for its speed and makeup. Split into five separate ‘Wings’, each commanded by an Admiral, the Draqo fleet is made up of five heavy ships and twenty-five light ships. Like many such fleets, they are all available as Sell-Sails and can boast a modest range of weapons, and even ground based men for raiding and pillage.

Broadly speaking the ships are split into two classes, Galleass’ and Carracks. The Galleass’ come with the standard loadout split across three decks of weapons, totally out at 30 springalds on either side with a further two mounted both fore and aft. On the top decks they mount a total of twenty-four repeater crossbows mounted on swivels; with a large assortment of hand held crossbows for the crew.

The smaller ships are built more for speed that for firepower, and thus come with but one combat weapons deck, with eight springalds on either side, with six swivel crossbows on the top deck. All vessels come equipped with considerable rams, designed to impact just above the waterline.

Army wise, the Dragon Fleet boasts around 15,000.00 men, mostly in its Bay or on the ships - who fight with a blindingly diverse range of weapons, mostly for use on board ships. They are known to avoid armour, due to the dangers that such things involve when at sea.

The Dragon
The flagship of the fleet, and Captained by none other than the Pirate Lord himself, the ‘Dragon’ is a Galleass (as seen above) boasting three decks of oars and springalds and as many masts. Its sails can be deployed with a triangular cut so as to allow for sailing against or with the wind, and are supplemented when needed by two vast ‘side sails’ should additional momentum be required.

What sets this vessel apart are its great red sails, and the golden ram - which sits above the waterline - cast in the shape of a snarling dragon. This ram appears to be ‘splayed’ across the front of the vessel, allowing for its ‘feet’ to pierce above the waterline when ramming, whilst the ‘Wings’ spread out enabling for the diffusion of shock on the charge.

The ship is known to deploy with great burning braziers of logs and coal at the fore and rear, which illuminate the ship, and omit vast clouds of smoke - lending it a terrifying appearance to match its reputation.

It has a great cabin for the captain, and four boats to move things ashore with, as well as a brig. To deal with boarders, the decks hold several cabinets for javelins and racks for crossbows.

Crew & Conduct
As with all fleets, maintaining a working crew is one of the most vital functions a Captain and their Quartermaster must provide. To this end the crews within the fleet of the Dragon are split into two groups, Officers and Deckhands. Most Officers are formed of those hand selected by the ships captains (who are in turn selected by the Pirate Lord himself), whilst most deckhands are a collection of slaves, prisoners and deserters from other navies.

All crew members are expected to be fit and ready for combat; and due to the frequency of raids, are strong and able bodied. Officers, who are often selected from the fighting pits, or chosen from freed gladiator stock, tend to be powerfully built, and able combatants in their own right. Alongside this, all crewmen are bound by a code of conduct as follows:

• The Common Chest and Shares
  From the common chest (that being the bounty gained at sea by ventures known to the crew), there shall be provision of two shares for the Captain and Quartermaster, with a one and half share for all officers. Free Crew shall be gaining one share each, whilst slaves be given none - with a further provision of a full ten shares for the laying of ship and its upkeep. A further two share be paid to the Lord of the Fleets.
  The Manner of the Man
  
• No man shall take of gambling, by way of cards, dice or other games, aboard ship. Nor shall he partake of women and other company, lest it be on land at the allocated time. All men must also keep their weapons in good order, and must never desert their post - lest they be stuck of their manhood and left marooned.
• The Care of the Man & Rank
  Any man who does find themselves injured in service shall be properly compensated. The ship shall cater with food and an amount of liquor (to be consumed at the allotted times) for the crewmen. All Crew shall follow orders, and also have say in the election of the Captain, made out of candidates chosen by the Officers, Captains of the Fleet and the Lord himself.
  

Equipment wise, most Officers are normally armed with a cutlass, a collection of knives and a cat-o-nine tails for the application of corporal punishment on decks. Deckhands are allowed to keep a blade, whilst those of slave status - or captives - are only allowed access to weapons at the instruction of the Captain himself. Boarding Axes, Spears and knives are frequently used to this end and can be found on racks across deck and below.