Arashi the Riptide

During the reign of Lady Mikage, Shadowkin pirates plied Teleria’s waves by the flotilla. They left coastal towns all around the world as smoking ruins, their only significant opposition being the Osprey-class carracks and whitedarter dromons of the Aravian fleets and the steam-galleons of the Skyiron Navy. The powerful cities of Ireth and Velyzar too kept their waters clear, the former with stomach-churning shadow magic, the latter with ‘generous gifts’. Arashi the Riptide was among the greatest Shadowkin pirate captains. Though his name inspired fear and awe as far away as Port Wraith in the Winterlands, he primarily operated in the Lost Isles and along the coast of eastern Peltas. He was unafraid of attacking Dwarven shipping or Sylvan Leviathans for Lady Mikage, long before the establishment of the Nyresan Union, and gladly attacked other targets for pay. The Riptide was common-born. He was thus not guaranteed an officer’s rank, but through his hard work, charisma, and skill, he ascended the hierarchy. He was loved and respected by his sailors. They knew he was one of them. He ate and drank what they did. He shared in their ribald jokes, he knew the fishing villages many came from, and he refused to wear an officer’s regalia, instead preferring basic garments and weapons. Above all, he gave them victories, and did his best to keep them alive. Few Shadowkin pirates were his equal in the arts of navigating and fighting in the fog or at night. Survivors from his raids claimed that his ships slid from the fog as if from nowhere, before melting back into it when the bloodshed was done. Arashi had the flanks and sails of his atakebunes and koboyas painted in disruptive camouflage patterns, compounding his ability to move across the seas undetected in any conditions. Arashi’s skills and tactics ranged even beyond night and fog raiding. He regularly landed his ships far from target settlements, attacking them by land from behind – often using a handful of ships as decoys, drawing enemy soldiers to docks and shores. When he sacked the Lizardmen settlement of Beachcomb, he went one step further. The town was situated on a long island, on the opposite side from the direction of the Riptide’s approach. To attack directly would mean spending weeks going around the island negotiating its large outlying reefs. Instead, Arashi had his sailors beach their ships where they were, break them down, and carry the components across the island to their target. They took the inhabitants of Beachcomb by complete surprise, claiming a surrender without spilling a drop of blood. The Riptide’s crews took all they wanted, rebuilt their ships on the settlement’s side of the island, and sailed away. Though the Riptide had little appetite to make ‘pointless’ routes through shallow and rocky waters, that did not mean he could not weave his ships through them if necessary. Doing so saved his life, the lives of his crews, and his ships, very often. By plunging headlong into Bloodrazor Reef, which bridged the sea between the Obsidian Twins islands, Arashi eluded a flotilla commanded by famed Dwarf pirate-hunter Kraki of the Noose. In a separate incident, Arashi used his intimate knowledge of the Mawcliffs to lay low the enormous Sylvan Leviathan called She of Hard Shell and Harder Heart. She was one of the largest of her kind, able to carry a crew of hundreds on her back, and was merciless with pirates. The Riptide twisted this fury against her by leading her into the Mawcliffs. This rock formation – which resembled dozens of sharp, holed teeth poking out of a jaw — was forever being battered by enormous waves. It was easy for ships to become trapped within them and smashed against the unforgiving rock. That is exactly what Arashi ensured happened to the Leviathan. He drew her in by disguising his ship so it looked damaged, then used the superior maneuverability of his vessel to slip beyond the cliffs, leaving her behind. She never escaped, nor did a single Sylvan with her. The Riptide’s crew ate well for weeks after, and were made rich selling shell-chunks. Though a notorious attacker, Arashi maintained a base of operations. Not only was it well defended with layers of concealed booby traps, but it also served as a further source of wealth. It sat on a strip of land that formed one side of a safe, narrow strait — an easy position from which to extract tolls and protection money. Furthermore, all of the lighthouse keepers for miles around were in his employ. As and when he desired, he ordered them to snuff out their fires, so that ships might run aground and be easily looted. Arashi’s skills and genius were undeniable. The Arbiter could not miss them.