Safiya Daivra

Safiya Daivra, also known as the Jewel of the West, Scourge of the Dragon Sea, and Pirate Queen of Aurus, is possibly the single most infamous pirate captain of the modern age.

## History

Safiya was born sometime around the year 1454 AA. Stories about her claim that she is the child of infamous pirate captain "Mad" Mercer Roberts and the legendary sea hag Calypso, though there is no proof that this has any basis in fact. She grew up aboard ships as a black powder monkey, often being used to perform dangerous tasks aboard the ship.

She lived as a crew member until the year 1469, when she joined up with the *Sunset Chaser*, a pirate ship based out of the western Veridian Sea. Within a year, she was the first mate of the ship at only age 15. She served under Captain Reyas Valek, a Tiefling pirate who was a prominent member of the Scarlet Sails for 7 years, in which she saw much of the Veridian Sea.

In 1476, she was given a captured frigate and named a Captain within the Scarlet Sails. She named her ship the *Sea Witch* and ravaged the northern coast of the Veridian Sea for the next 2 years. During this time, she began to argue the case for expanding the Scarlet Sails west beyond the Veridian Sea. The rest of the captains within the Scarlet Sails rebuked her and she slowly alienated herself within the armada. At the time, the Dragon Sea west of the Veridian Sea was controlled by the Drakuli Hegemony with a tight grip. Piracy was unheard of in the region because of the formidable Drakuli Navy, which ruled the sea. It was considered suicide for a pirate to sail those waters.

Safiya finally reached a breaking point with the Scarlet Sails and left the organization to become an independent pirate in the year 1478. For the next year, she and her crew ravaged the west coast of Antibor before sailing west into the Dragon Sea. After she left Antibor, her ship was not seen again until 1482. It is unclear where she was for the year and a half, but when she did turn up again, she did so with a bang.

On a silent and still night in the fall of 1482, a huge crime wave hit the Dragon Sea. The *Sea Witch* struck over a dozen ships in the course of only a week, then seemed to disappear without a trace. News of Safiya spread throughout the Drakuli Archipeligo and the entire Drakuli Navy was put on high alert. Safiya continued to hit merchant ships at an alarming rate and then disappear before the navy could arrive, as if she knew right where they would be. By the end of 1483, she had a bounty of 15,000 gold on her head. The Drakuli Navy, despite being the largest in the world, was severely outdated, a fact that Safiya exploited to become incredibly successful as a pirate.

Desperate for her capture or death, the Drakuli Hegemony sent their legendary Dragon Knights to hunt her down. These warriors rode their dragons across the sky, seeking her out. In an incredible spectacle, Safiya shot one out of the sky while her ship was on fire just off the coast. Hundreds of people watched her personally behead a dragon after it had crashed onto the deck of her ship. She excelled at defeating the Dragon Knights when encountering them one by one, but they soon became more coordinated in their attacks. Safiya was forced to retreat to Stormhaven, a rocky volcanic island that had long lava tubes descending into the sea below. The geography made it impossible for the Dragon Knights to attack from the air and eliminated any advantage they would normally have. After a grueling 13 day battle between them all, the Dragon Knights were forced to retreat after half a dozen dragons and knights were killed.

Instead of fleeing while she was ahead, Safiya instead struck back. She sneaked ashore on the capital island of Drakis and took the Primearch of Drakuli hostage. After a 3 day hostage crisis, she was granted complete amnesty and a full pardon, as well as 7 ships worth of gold, jewels, and other valuables. She sailed away from the Dragon Sea back to the west coast of Antibor with more treasure than most nations are worth. She claimed the island of Aurus for herself and built herself a palace and declared herself the Pirate Queen of Aurus, building a pirate haven upon the island over the next five years. During these five years in 1485, she had a daughter with an unknown father.

In 1489, after building an impressive 23 ship armada, she sailed back to the Dragon Sea and waged war on the Drakuli Hegemony. Their navy had improved, but still struggled to repel Safiya's armada. After three years of constant naval combat and countless raids upon the Drakuli people, the armada was finally repelled. In a last hurrah, Safiya's armada once more attacked Drakis. She stormed the Temple of the Platinum Dragon and faced down Ahmat the Golden Fury, the most powerful dragon on Irdas, defeating him and taking his head as a prize.

Since defeating Ahmat, she has returned to Aurus to raise her daughter. While she maintains a private navy of several dozen pirate ships who are loyal to her and pay her regular tribute in exchange for a safe harbor. Her armada continues to harass ships and settlements on the coast of Antibor, but have been slowly muscled out of the Dragon Sea by the growing Drakuli Navy. As the Drakuli Hegemony has begun colonizing in the western Veridian Sea, they have so far given Aurus a wide berth, but the sworn enemies will likely clash sooner rather than later. Safiya does not appear to have any aspirations of further glory, instead devoting all of her free time to raising her daughter. She also travels the Veridian Sea, stopping at every port and forcing whatever nobles are in the area to treat her and her daughter like royalty until she moves on.