Court of Free Seas

## Description

The Court of Free Seas, or the Court of High Seas, or the Brethren Court, is a global confederation of allied pirate Clans, groups, factions, and organizations that operate under one loose code of conduct to ensure the longevity of their livelihoods and combat threats to their domain. They operate almost exclusively on the waters of the world and in the Elemental Plane of Water as extra-national entities of lawlessness and egalitarianism, and as such lack the conventional affiliations one normally attributes to an organization; instead, the Court of Free Seas operates with whomever it needs to whenever it needs to in order to secure for itself as much advantage as possible whilst still upholding its strict moral code. The Court of Free Seas ensures the continued survival of piracy and is rumored to have direct access to powerful magical entities, particularly [REDACTED].

The Court of Free Seas is a relatively secret organization that, whilst common knowledge amongst sailors and pirates and residents of the coasts, is even less than a rumor to a majority of the world. Its existence is often contested and misattributed to other splinter groups, which creates contradictions with previously acquired information; *it is unknown at this time if the Court of Free Seas actively partakes in misinformation campaigns to obscure its true activities and motivations, but it is wise to operate as if such strategies are employed*. The public knows little to nothing of the Court of Free Seas thanks to the so-called Pirate's Code and the respectful fear instilled in those who know its full strength.

### Organization:

#### Population: ~100,000

Founded in the late 17th Century

The Court of Free Seas operates at the highest level in the form of a Court, comprised of the largest and most powerful pirate lords and captains from around the world, regardless of race, gender, or any other denominator. This court makes the largest and widest-sweeping decisions, often affecting the entire world in some way or another, although this is not always the case; the Court of Free Seas has been known to step in on inter-pirate conflict when necessary, and has handed out individual punishments and rulings in the past. More commonly, the Court passes a decree—only unanimously—that dramatically changes the current world, like by declaring war on a particular person, group, or nation, setting bounties on individuals or groups, voting on changes to the Pirate Code, and more. Below the Court itself comes everyone else, all of whom are equal under the Court's unwavering and sea-weary eye. The decrees of the Court are final, and expected to be obeyed by all members of the Court, regardless of rank, unless specifically stated in the decree. Decrees are believed to be passed from ship to ship via special sea shanties written specifically to convey the rulings of a new decree, like many other secret methods of communication suspected to be employed by the Court.

The Court of Free Seas does not actively recruit, and has not done so for several centuries; instead, all pirate Clans eventually have an interaction whereby they discover and then join the Court, or are introduced to the Court's worse aspects and find themselves fearful of denying the invitation. All pirates are invited to join the Court, and all entrances are voluntary and very ceremonial, requiring an aspiring pirate to first find his way to Libertatia and then complete the necessary trials to prove his worth. The size and scope of the Court of Free Seas is unknown.

Besides handing down decrees an punishments, the Court of Free Seas also acts as a sort of global union, acting to ensure that the rights of their members are upheld by whomever employs them; breaking such rights on purpose is rumored to equal a masochistic form of suicide. The Court's global reach and international influence, even reaching into the Elemental Plane of Water, makes the organization a very far-reaching force to be reckoned with, capable of levying massive forces to combat threats and address rule-breakers. The capabilities of the Court of Free Seas are unknown, but confirmed to be incredibly dangerous.

The JPCU has had minimal direct encounters with the Court of Free Seas, although mutual knowledge in regards to the existence of each group is confirmed. The JPCU does make agreements with the Court of Free Seas to acquire needed transportation and supplies, as well as ensure the secrecy of the Continent of Pilbo, but the two groups otherwise ignore one another.

### Equipment:

The technological capabilities of the Court of Free Seas is unknown, but is believed to be equivalent to the modern age in at least some aspects; while their strategies are old and livelihoods ancient, they are not without adaptation. The Court does not possess any uniformity or standards for much of anything, which creates a large disparity in the quality and level of technology amongst their members.

The Court of Free Seas is known to have heavy ties to magic, and is confirmed to possess great magical power of many varieties. From enchanted items, magical ships and boats, magic users of all kind at their disposal, and ties to deities of unknown origin and power, the Court of Free Seas is a deadly force to be reckoned with.

The JPCU is not actively hostile against the Court of Free Seas, and as such does not possess active plans to combat them or their members; if conflict ere to occur, antimagic weaponry would be deployed as a necessity.

#### Communication:

The Court of Free Seas operates with its own special form of code and cipher, commonly associated with sea shanties and performance. Decrees, the Pirate Code, and much of their culture are spread and passed down via song, theatrical performance, or other form of art. Some shanties tell the stories of the Court, others tell of new decrees, others pass along messages and orders between ships and captains. Others carry a far more important message...

##### Hoist the Colors High

This song is one of dread to those who hear it, and one of somber hope for those who dare sing it. The shanty tells the history of the Court of Free Seas and elaborates on the religious mythology of the Court's members on top of acting as the Court's unofficial anthem. The song is one of unity amongst all sailors and pirates alike, and serves several very important messages in pirate culture.

Those who sing this dangerous tune do so out of desperation, using the song as a cultural symbol and a call for aid. The song is sung only in the most dire of circumstances, and creates an obligation for all nearby Court members to help the singer in whatever task they are undertaking; while the gifting of aid is an obligation and is by no means a rule, a Court member that denies someone the aid promised by the anthem may find themselves under scrutiny. Those who sing the song flippantly or without good reason to do so can find themselves in deep trouble as well, and may be outright killed for abusing their privileges.

In a related way, the song is also often used as a declaration of war. Should an entire ship's crew or larger gathering of Court members sing the song together, the person to whom the song is directed should settle their debts and wait for the inevitability of their coming demise. Those marked by this song are considered free kills for those of the Court, and a bounty may soon follow the victim should they fight back against a would-be assassin.

The song is also the siren's call for the Court itself, and is sung whenever an event or issue becomes important enough for the Court's full attention. The Court is gathered when the song is sung and news spreads to the pirate lords who make up its voting body. A somber and hopeful song, the shanty turns heads and warns of coming chaos, as the mighty tide of piracy is soon to bring its stalwart gaze upon any who would deserve its attention.

#### Military:

The Court of Free Seas maintains a very small a standing army, but has the power to summon up to and including every pirate under their purview if needed. Every member of the Court is trained at least partially in combat and seafaring, and every settlement and ship filled with trained combatants, making a large standing military somewhat redundant; instead, the Court maintains a small well-trained guard that protects Libertatia and the surrounding islands, and acts as the independent protecting enforcers of the Court's decrees. The small force of specialists is also used to enforce punishments against traitors, and acts as the only force not actively owned or employed by any other pirate lord or captain.

The Court's extensive naval power is its true shining feature, and is known to be far larger than any single nation is capable of managing. Ships of all sizes, shapes, and levels of technology fill out the huge armada at the Court's disposal, all with the utterance of a single decree.

#### Punishments:

The Court, while lacking an official military force, is not without a judiciary system. While most issues are handled by the given captains of vessels and lords of the clans, the occasional case arises that deserves the Court's full attention and vote.

## Religion:

Religion among the sailors of the world's seas is a splintered and disorganized chaos. Each island, settlement, and ship is likely to have a religious system that is invariably different from any other island, settlement, or ship; some of these belief systems are monotheistic, some are polytheistic, some are organized and others are not. Despite the great many differences between faiths, the Court of Free Seas does recognize a single orthodoxy, and also recognizes several smaller cults; this section will discuss the standardized orthodoxy for the Court of Free Seas, but this standard is not upheld or required. A list of known sects and cults is listed below.

The standard faith for the Court of Free Seas is a polytheistic religion with an inwards focus; unlike many other faith systems, the Court of Free Seas lacks any gender differences or preferences. The focus for the religion of the Court of Free Seas is ensuring the self-independence, freedom, and equality of oneself and one's crewmates. For the Court of Free Seas, divine interaction is very common, and comes in the form of the activity of sailing and living off of the ocean.

### List of the Gods:

#### List of Mythology-Adjacent (Supported) Gods:

1. Zeus
2. Poseidon
3. Calypso
4. Orc gods

#### List of Unsupported Gods:

1. Kraken/Cthulhu
2. Deep Ones/Dagon