Well, to keep things short and simple, my name is Terra Magnar, better known as Terra the Terrible. "Terrible", because my hobbies include cheating people out of large sums of money and occasionally plundering the high seas for her treasure. In other words, I enjoy pirating. And I do it quite often, thank you very much.
The land was never exactly my center of operations. Ever since I was fifteen, I've worked on a ship, feeling the open salty air on my pale face, and letting the wind whip my white-blonde hair in any direction it pleased. Nine years later, I still ride the high seas, only occasionally making port for the supplies for more rowdy plundering. Lately, however, I have been keeping my identity concealed in Aurora and Bowerstone Industrial. Wanted signs with my face on them have been popping up quite often. Looks like His Majesty King Logan has been noticing that his supply ships haven't been reaching their destination.
My ship, named the Magpie (that's the name her old owner pleased to give her), kept herself well hidden by taking down her old unmistakable red sails, and putting up clean white ones. While my crew, Finch, Marlin, Joey, Old Cook, Gerry, Spook, and Four-Eyes, kept themselves busy satisfying their "needs" (needs being booze and saucy wenches), I wandered Bowerstone Industrial, the place where I was raised until I was fifteen. I typically hang around their nasty pub, The Riveter's Rest, but today I decided I was going to take a walk around. I immediately turned on my heel when I saw the prince, followed by Sir Walter Beck. I bet the prince thought he was in some clever disguise, but anyone who's lived in Albion since the old Hero king was alive knows both Logan and the prince.
I thought they caught a glimpse of my hooded form, but I was unsure. Either way, our time in port was up. I rushed back to The Magpie, grabbing Finch by the arm as I passed by his carrot-orange head. Finch was young, probably thirty, but he was the head of my crew. He nodded and was out of my sight within a few seconds, no doubt to go find the others. I continued to walk back to my ship.
By the time I was there, Old Cook was already in the cabin, Joey and Four-Eyes were fooling around in the crows' nest, and Finch was pulling Marlin, Gerry, and Spook onto the front of the ship. I went up to the wheel and shouted to my crew.
"Down with the sails! To Aurora we go!" I shouted. My men went to work, and I went into the cabin.
"Cook, man the wheel," I said gently. Cook smiled his same toothless smile, and hobbled out of the cabin, where there was a bustle of activity. I went to my personal quarters. It was rather modest, a small bed, a small chest, a sink, and a mirror over it. I went to look in the mirror.
My white-blonde hair was almost pure white against the black color of my hood. I put my hood down and unbuttoned my cropped jacket, tossing it on my bed. My long hair fell down out of the hood, touching my middle back. My jagged bangs were arranged across my forehead, and the strands of my long hair that had been wrapped in thread and various charms hung down on my chest. My white loose-fitting shirt was tucked into my thick belt, from which my baggy workers' pants hung. I pushed my sleeves up past my elbows. They were tucked into my clunky leather boots. From my belt hung twin pistols, one dangling from each hip.
I sighed and turned away from myself, feeling the groan of The Magpie as she went full speed towards open sea. I heard three knocks, and Finch's orange head appeared in the door.
"Um, Cap'n Terra, we're headed southeast towards Aurora, the boys were wondering if we should stay on lookout for passing ships," he grumbled, in his usually deep voice.
"Let's take it easy today, Finch. You guys had a rough week and we were only in port for a few hours. You all can swap shifts for tonight," I said, letting Finch have a little bit of leash, but keeping my stern face. His face lit up and he had excitement in his voice.
"Yes Cap'n!" he said, shutting my door and scrambling out on deck. I heard the boys rejoice as I laid down on my small cot and began to fall into a deep sleep.
I was woken up by the sound of shouts on deck and sudden jolts in the Magpie's motion. I shot out of bed and grabbed my pistols, fastening them to my belt. I shoved the door open and looked at the scene outside. I was greeted by Marlin running right into me.
"Cap'n! one of Logan's ships has harpooned us! They're asking for ya!" he said frantically. I grabbed my belt and ran to the deck of the ship. I drew one of my pistols into my right hand, approaching the side. Sure enough, Logan's soldiers lined the deck of the ship that was now connected to us, via harpoon. They had fired a harpoon into the side of my beautiful Magpie, and connected her to their ship. We were stuck.
The crew of the enemy ship was accompanied by a very tall man wearing a very tall hat, clad in white. He looked serious yet amused.
"Terra Magnar! By royal order, King Logan demands your unconditional and complete surrender!" one of the soldiers yelled, pointing a gun at me. I laughed.
"Come on boys, let's show these prigs that Miss Magpie won't go down without a fight!"
My crew shouted in approval and raised their weapons. The troops from the rival ship dropped a plank to the deck of the Magpie, and one by one began to cross over.
There was so much gunfire, shouting, and the sound of cutlasses clashing, that I lost track of what was going on. I took out my pistols and aimed at a soldier crossing the connecting plank, shooting him into the water.
Finch had his hands full with three soldiers, and I easily dispatched one for him. Gerry and Four Eyes were back to back, fighting off a hoard. I tried to cover Cook's back as best as I could, but the old man eventually cowered into the cabin. I would've scolded him, but at that point I didn't much care.
I looked up at the precise moment that the tall-hat man decided to cross the plank onto my ship, pistol drawn. His tall hat was adorned with large goggles, and his white jacket was whipping around his waist, the fur lining rubbing against his pale face. The heart tattoo on his cheek was the most noticeable thing about him. It was also noticeable that he was aiming his pistol right at my right hand mate, Finch.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was running full speed towards this tall-hat man, my arms outstretched, uttering some sort of primitive war cry. I slammed into him, hooking my arms around his midsection, and knocked him backwards several feet. Unfortunately, those several feet lead to the edge of the deck, which we both toppled over. Still connected, we plunged into the water, both of us shoving and scratching and screaming obscenities that I would rather not mention.
We both splashed into the ocean and immediately separated, but my fight against the currents of the sea was rather feeble, as I was not a strong swimmer. Imagine that, a pirate lord being a weak swimmer! My lungs were gasping for something, other than salty sea water, which they were quickly filling up with. I felt hands around my arms push me to the surface. When I looked, there was no one visible to me.
Shortly after bringing my head to the surface (alone, I might add), I was fished out by a rather uncomfortable rope and several pairs of gloved hands. I was shoved down onto the floor of the deck. This was Logan's ship. I looked at all the members of my loyal crew, even Old Cook, shackled and miserable, alongside me. We were all looking at my beautiful ship.
One of the soldiers shouted and suddenly several cannons were fired into Miss Magpie. I watched as she sank into the dark sea, fighting back tears. My belongings, everything I worked for, my treasure, all gone. I had nothing.
There was a dark look on my face as the soldiers set their course to Bowerstone Industrial, and the tall-hat man was nowhere to be seen.