Paige Claire

**Paige Claire de Lane Reid om de Framck**, also simply known as **Paige Claire** or **Black Claire**, was a pirate who harassed much of the seas during the Third Era, specifically between Eukitia and Malkenia. Originally born in the Malkenian Imperium, Claire quickly grew tired of their imperialist ways and turned to a life of piracy, using her inherited fortune to purchase her ship, *The Imperator's Hangman*. After hiring a crew, Claire set to sea, and would regularly attack Malkenian steamships and naval vessels. Slowly but surely she would build a small fleet of ships, all painted black, that would sail together and attack Imperium vessels. Nicknamed the Black Fleet, these ships would quickly become feared by Malkenians due to their efficiancy of destroying Imperium shipping lanes and plundering their cargo.

Due to her exploits and confidence, Claire gained a repuation among many other pirate captains and crews. Her word held great weight among pirates, and some pirates would whisper of her claiming the title of Dread Captain, a title attributed to many a legendary pirate throughout history and used to bolster one's status among pirates and sailors alike.

As a result of her actions, Claire's activity became instrumental in preventing a true large-scale invasion of Eukitia by the Malkenian Imperium, managing to disrupt their flow of supply from east-to-west thoroughly enough that the Imperium would not have efficient enough supply lines in order to supply troops if they landed legions en masse on Eukitian soil and were deployed longer for than their Imperator-class Airships could supply.

## History

Claire was born in the Malkenian Imperium, and lived a glamorous early life as the daughter of two nobles. However, she was not satisfied with this life of civility and poise. Claire had always been drawn to the ocean and to martial combat, often partaking in practice sword duels with her brother against their parents' wishes. On top of this, Claire grew to resent the actions the Imperium took. For whatever reason, she was resistant to the usual cultural brainwashing the Imperium prefers to raise its young with, and she grew to view the Imperium as a repulsive and destructive force. Upon reaching adulthood, Claire took her expansive riches from her family and purchased a ship, which she named *The Imperator's Hangman*.

After purchasing her vessel, she took to the seas for adventure and glory, attacking Imperium naval vessels - military and transport alike. She would capture goods and supplies that were vital to the Imperium war machine, such as hyperil, firearms and ammunition, and sell them to the highest bidders. From this, she would slowly build up a powerful fleet over the course of a decade, stealing and purchasing vessels to grow her Black Fleet to a total of 8 ships - her flagship, the *Hangman*; her two stolen Imperial cruisers, the *Cry Harzeland* and *Good Fall*; three stolen and retrofitted Imperial frigates, the *Abandoned Hope*, *Howl of Night* and *Golden Glint*; and two retrofitted Imperial cargo ships, the *Death of a Killer* and *Damned Disgrace*. Using this fleet, Claire would gain extreme prestige among fellow pirates and great fear by the Imperium military.

## Personality

Claire was known for her easygoing and combat-focused mentality for a pirate. She was confident and knew her skill, and would rarely grow overconfident and get into situations she couldn't handle. While she valued martial strength and battle prowess, she also highly coveted the ability to work as a team and a sense of honor. For a pirate, Claire was quite diplomatic and would regularly spend time with other pirate captains in a friendly manner. When her crew was on shore leave, she would regularly visit pirate hotspots like old portside taverns and buy drinks for all visitors for the next month.

## Friends and Enemies

Claire had allies across many pirate factions. She was friends with numerous captains of other pirate crews and fleets, and was oftentimes quite friendly with her own sailors as well.

While rivalries are difficult to keep on the high seas, Claire formed a tense rivalry with the Imperial Praefectus Kaise de Lonte and the crew of her ship, *The Grand Extravagant*. Kaise de Lonte and Paige Claire were said to have an almost homoerotic tension in their rare meetings, with de Lonte regularly hunting down Claire and Claire escaping each time. They would often engage in swordfights even when totally unneccessary yet never take a killing blow or seriously attempt to defeat the other.