Crimson Sails Armada

:This article is about the pirate coalition. For the island, see Crimson Sails.
The Crimson Sails Armada was a pirate and rebel coalition which was active during and after the Hundred Year War. Originally founded by disgraced Fire Navy officers, the coalition later developed into a diverse force. Many of the participating crews, ex-military or not, were only interested in plunder and had no qualms about raiding civilians. Others regarded themselves as actual rebels and social revolutionaries.
Despite having fought the Fire Nation for decades, the Crimson Sails Armada made a secret deal with Fire Lord Ozai in 95 AG and subsequently ceased its anti-Fire Nation activities. Following the Great War's end, the new Fire Nation government under Zuko unknowingly terminated the agreement, resulting in strife among the pirates about the right course of action. These struggles resulted in the rise of Ningka to Head Captain; under her rule, the Crimson Sails Armada launched a large-scale piracy campaign against the Fire Nation.
== History ==
The Crimson Sails Armada's emergence was the result of Fire Lord Azulon's policy to dishonorably discharge any Fire Navy officers who were implicated in criminal activities or had refused to follow orders. Over several years, many of these officers banded together as corsairs, and began to steal from the Fire Navy as a form of revenege. Ultimately, they organized the Crimson Sails Armada and eventually grew into a formidable fleet that was powerful enough to pose a serious threat to the Fire Islands. However, when Azulon died in 95 AG and was succeeded by his son Ozai, the situation changed. The new Fire Lord decided to make a secret deal with the corsairs: He would covertly supply them with money, food, and other goods, and in return they left the Fire Nation and its military alone.
The agreement held for the rest of the Hundred Year War. Now no longer in opposition to the Fire Lord, the pirates settled on an island between the Fire Islands and Earth Kingdom, dubbing it "Crimson Sails". There, they developed an independent community of criminals and outcasts, and the well-founded pirate domain soon began to attract migrants from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes as well.
When Ozai was overthrown and the Great War ended in 100 AG, however, the flow of money and goods to the Crimson Sails Armada was cut off. The new Fire Lord, Zuko, was unaware of his father's deal with the pirates, and unknowingly cut their supplies as he reduced military spending. This change led to internal turmoil within the pirate coalition, and eventually a coup: The Head Captain, Kangana, was blamed for the deal's end and overthrown. She was replaced by Ningka who was much more aggressive. As the new Head Captain, Ningka ordered a large-scale raiding campaign, and the pirates indeed quickly captured much loot as they fell upon the Fire Nation's unsuspecting merchant fleets. Before long, the attacks attracked government attention, especially when the corsairs plundered the Zeisan's Hope, a vessel transporting reparation payments from the Fire Nation to the Earth Kingdom. The loss of this money threatened international peace, prompting Zuko to send a team of adventurers to investigate the Crimson Sails Armada.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Starter Set, Adventure Booklet, pg. 5.
== Setup ==
By the 100s AG, the Crimson Sails Armada included the following factions:
* Crew of the Pyre Howler: Personal retinue of Head Captain Ningka, previously loyal to Kangana. Though not the largest member group of the Crimson Sails Armada, it consisted of its most skilled and vicious corsairs.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Starter Set, Adventure Booklet, pg. 6.
* Crew of the Burning Wave: Led by Captain Duga. Unlike other Crimson Sails factions, the crew of the Burning Wave' was more focused on smuggling and covert trading than raiding; they were more wealthy, but also disdained by the other crews.
* Crew of the Renegade Phoenix: Led by Captain Tengfei, this faction was the most bloodthirsty and rebel-like among the Crimson Sails Armada, excelling in indiscriminate (and often incautious) raiding. Though cruel and brutal, their activities also made the Renegade Phoenix pirates "folk heroes" and "legends" in the Fire Nation.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Starter Set, Adventure Booklet, pg. 9.
* "Dancing Nobleman Fleet": Led by Captain Mosi, this faction was one of the most diverse in the Crimson Sails Armada. It consisted of freethinkers who like to operate as they wish, while also enjoying a sense of community under Mosi's light-handed guidance. Many member crews of the "Dancing Nobleman Fleet" saw themselves as social bandits, giving some of their loot to charity and attacking only military vessels or trading ships carrying money, not food.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Starter Set, Adventure Booklet, pg. 12.
* Various minor crews
== References ==
== See also ==
* Piracy in the World of Avatar
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Category:Crimson Sails Armada
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