Dread Captain

Org Goldenskull, a prolific early Third Era Dread Captain

**Dread Captain** was a title passed down from pirate to pirate beginning in the Second Era. Less of a formal title and more of a title that denoted an especially powerful, influential and feared pirate of a time period, Dread Captains were known across the seas of Rosenwelt as the most bloodthirsty, fierce, and bold men and women to ever sail. The exploits of Dread Captains were told for generations, to the point that a clear history of each one has been largely lost to time - the exploits of previous Captains bleeds over to the current one in popular culture, leading the title to have an immensely powerful and intimidating weight to it. A Dread Captain is no mere normal pirate or captain; they are a person of near mythic strength, cunning and influence, to the point that even the whispering of their title brings fear to the most landlocked of people.

## Exploits

Each Dread Captain varied greatly in where they sailed and how they pirated, however every Dread Captain was known for their great exploits. Dread Captains lead their crews on raids and attacks that were far greater than other crews, often appearing nearly miraculous that the crews and their ships survived. Some Dread Captains gained the title by attacking entire naval fleets of established nations - a feat that even the most skilled pirates would deem suicidal. Others gained their notoriety by raising rebellions against oppressors, or for fighting against various monsters. Even further, others became known for their involvements in the establishment of pirate republics or for the sheer amounts of wealth they had gathered.

Regardless of the actual events leading them to gain their titles, however, their exploits would land into the bucket of what previous Dread Captains achieved, lending weight to the title. To civilians who seldom set out to sea or interact with pirates, they would rarely hear the news that a Dread Captain has passed and a new one had picked up the mantle. As a result, the exploits of one Captain would tend to pile onto the achievements of the next, and so forth, creating an extremely intimidating title. Even among other pirates, the weight of the title Dread Captain still stood - they were nearly always the strongest, most cunning, and most brutal individual in the room.

## History

The title of Dread Captain began in the early Second Era, when pirating started to become more common. The strongest pirate captain would become known as the Dread Captain, and the title began to be passed on when the current one had died to the next-most-prolific pirate. Originating as a notifier of respect, the title slowly became associated with the achievements of the Dread Captains as well - the slaying of krakens, the incitement of rebellions, the brutal retribution of killing an oppressor. As time went on, the names of each Dread Captain faded into obscurity, but the stories of their exploits remained. Sailors and civilians alike would tell stories of how the Dread Captain overthrew a far-off Baron, or how they slew a sea beast the size of a small village. The popular culture around the Dread Captain came to see them as some kind of immortal being, who had committed countless acts of piracy, heroic and villainous both. As such, those who inherited the title of Dread Captain carried an incredibly powerful reputation - merely needing to speak their title and look the part to intimidate even the bravest land-dwellers.

## Known Dread Captains

The names of most Dread Captains have faded into the footnotes of ancient historical texts and tomes. However, scholars have managed to attain the names of a few notable Captains who have had some form of political impact over the millenia.

* Peg Pecker was a Dread Captain known for overthrowing a kingdom and his penchant for brutalizing orphans, and is kept in history as perhaps the most brutal Dread Captain of all time.
* Paige Claire was named Dread Captain by some fellow pirates, however never accepted the title herself. She was known for her relentless piracy of Malkenian Imperium vessels and her Black Fleet.
* A Dread Captain only known by Elidyr became the youngest ever to claim the title at 20 years old, and was potentially related to a noble of one of the Elven Houses of Eukitia.
* Katniss the Cannon was the psuedonym of a Dread Captain from the Far East who, after having her left hand cut off in combat, replaced it with a functional cannon.
* Org Goldenskull, one of the only documented Orc Dread Captains, is one of the earliest Dread Captains of the Third Era and was a de facto leader of the Goldenskull tribe, famous for his penchant for razing portside towns and his unique axe made of a sharpened anchor fastened to a harpoon.