Mithrala Lifebane

There are many pirates who ply their trade in the southern seas. The Lost Isles are scattered with old Dragonkin Empire ruins that offer plentiful shelter for pirate crews to call home, and a place where they can avoid unwanted eyes. From these strongholds, reavers plunder the rich convoys that trade between Yakai, Velyzar, and the Free Cities of Anhelt. While many pirates have earned their fortune in the Lost Isles, fortune is a fickle thing. The higher one climbs, the further one can to fall, and few appear to have fallen as far as Mithrala Lifebane. Mithrala began her journey poor in resources, but rich in ambition. Forced to flee her home of Durham Forest with her band of thieves, she took her band to the high seas to escape her vengeful victims. After carving out a name for herself as a pirate, she forged an alliance with Rissix the Seeker – a veteran marauder of the Lost Isles. From that day, the Kingdom of Pirates was born. With Rissix’s charisma and Mithrala’s talent, they accomplished great things together, including establishing the port of Bleakhaven. What began as a business partnership prospered into a wealthy trading empire, ruled by Rissix and Mithrala as its king and queen. Even the greatest of empires can reach too far. Hungry for glory, Mithrala and Rissix dared attack the Dwarven Treasure Fleets of the Skyiron Dominion – each one a great prize. While the pirates were formidable fighters, and Rissix and Mithrala genius commanders, their lightly armed vessels were no match for the iron warships of the Dwarves, or that race’s sheer tenacity. In the brutal war, the Dwarves shattered the Kingdom of Pirates, with Mithrala's flagship retreating from the final battle in flames, while Rissix was last seen fighting aboard his doomed vessel, surrounded by foes. That, so they say, was the end of the King and Queen of pirates, and another victory for Alundi Seabreaker, the Skyiron Admiral, reputedly the greatest hydromancer to ever live. Despite this defeat, some say that it was not the end of the pirate kingdom. To this day, Bleakhaven remains a vital holdout to the pirates of the southern seas. Many believe that the final battle between the Kingdom of Pirates and the Dwarves was not the end of Bleakhaven’s rulers, either. Some claim that Mithrala repaired her flagship, and pursued Alundi, following him to the heart of the Void Reef. Others swear that Rissix the Seeker did not perish, but instead was captured by Alundi, who used him to help locate a vast treasure buried within the Lost Isles. Tellers of this tale never fail to mention the massive vortex at the center of the Void Reef, which some claim was not always there, and suggest that only a hydromancer could have created it. Nobody knows what truly lies within, for most sea captains dare not draw close. All who know of Mithrala Lifebane however know that she would feel no fear plunging her ship into such a place. Separately, there are those who claim they have seen the dreaded pirate queen stalking the high seas, no longer truly a Dark Elf. They say her ship is manned by a ghostly crew, her form has been twisted by forces no storyteller can determine, and that she plagues the trade routes, killing all in her path and seeking vengeance against the Dwarves of the Skyiron Dominion. Never forgetting the Pirate War, Skyiron’s fleets sail with additional guards, and they are fearful of ambush by her revenant vessel. None doubt she will destroy any ship that crosses her path – no matter whom they may belong to. These are only stories. The high sea is a cruel mistress, and sailors often see things as they ply the waves. No port has seen Mithrala for years, alive or dead. Nobody knows the truth. Some say there are no ghost ships. No sea-demons. No curses. The Lost Isles are thick with jungles, ruins, and pirates, but no vengeful, undead corsair queens have been confirmed. So people say.