A WORLD RULED BY SALT AND BLOOD.

The seven seas are no mere expanse of water. They are a kingdom without walls, a battlefield where the strong thrive and the weak are swallowed whole. Their tides are shaped by war, by the clash of steel and the boom of cannon fire, by whispered maps leading to cursed gold and ships vanishing into the fog, never to be seen again. The waters are lawless, but not without order. Pirates rule where the navy cannot reach, privateers toe the line between loyalty and greed, and stories coil like mist through the rigging, and not all of them are fiction.

The ocean is a cruel and fickle thing. She carries the weight of every oath broken, every name whispered in the dark, every soul lost to the depths. And no name is feared more than that of Damon ‘The Marked’ Marlowe, captain of The Last Curse, a man whose legend is written in fire and blood, whose crew is said to be more monster than man. He has no mercy, no master, and no equal.

His daughter should have been his heir. She was raised with salt in her veins and steel in her grip. She was raised on the deck of a ship, learned to fight before she could read, and she carried the weight of his name like an anchor. But June ‘Cutthroat’ Marlowe was never meant to live in the shadow of another, even a man as fearsome as her father. She made her choice. She turned against him, stole what he prized most, and fled into the night with nothing but the clothes on her back and death snapping at her heels.

Now, aboard the Scurvy Return, June sails under the flag of Captain Bellamy "Red" Carlyle, a pirate as cunning as he is reckless. June is more than just a runaway. She is a pirate in her own right, carving a name that will rival even her father’s. She has no intention of hiding. She will claim her own destiny, take what she is owed, and prove that she is not just Damon Marlowe’s daughter, she is his greatest enemy.

But the ocean does not forgive. The navy is closing in, hungry for the bounty on her head. Her father hunts her with a vengeance that turns the sea red in his wake. The Marlowe bloodline carries a debt, and the sea always collects.

This is not just a fight for survival. This is a war for a name worth remembering.

"The sea doesn’t care for kings or beggars, it takes them all the same. The only law out here is the one you carve with steel, and the only god worth praying to is the one that keeps your ship afloat."

THE BRITISH NAVY

The British Navy is the law where none should exist, an unyielding force determined to crush piracy and bring order to the untamed seas. Their ships, sleek and deadly, cut through the waves with purpose, their sails marked by the Union Jack, a banner as feared by pirates as it is loathed. To them, pirates are not just criminals; they are an insult to the Crown, a disease that must be eradicated before it spreads. And the man leading the charge is none other than Captain Bates Anderson.

A man of discipline, cunning, and unshakable loyalty to the Admiralty, Captain Anderson commands the HMS Valiant, a warship armed with more firepower than most pirate fleets combined. He is relentless in his pursuit, known for his ability to predict a fugitive’s next move before they even make it. He studies his prey, learns their weaknesses, and strikes when they least expect it. He does not believe in luck, only strategy, preparation, and swift, merciless justice. Unlike the younger officers who see pirates as nothing more than drunken marauders, Anderson knows better. He knows they are cunning, that they adapt, that they fight like cornered beasts when threatened. And yet, he remains confident in one thing: no pirate escapes forever.

For those who sail under the black flag, avoiding Anderson and his navy hounds is a game played on borrowed time. Some flee into uncharted waters, where the navy dares not follow, risking reefs, tempests, and unspeakable things lurking beneath the waves. Others vanish into hidden ports, bribing merchants and governors to look the other way. The most reckless—like Damon "The Marked" Marlowe and his crew—take a different approach. They strike first. They set navy supply ships ablaze, ambush patrols in the dead of night, and leave nothing but splintered hulls and floating bodies in their wake.

But the navy does not forget. Anderson does not forgive. And for pirates, the noose is always waiting.

"Pirates fancy themselves free men, but freedom without order is nothing more than chaos. And chaos is something I do not tolerate."

-Captain Bates Anderson

Life aboard a pirate ship is a storm unto itself, loud, unpredictable, and held together by nothing but sweat, salt, and the iron will of those who refuse to live any other way. It is not the polished order of a navy vessel, where every man stands stiff-backed and silent before his captain. No, a pirate ship is a living thing, wild and untamed, its crew bound together by the promise of freedom and fortune, by the clatter of dice on the deck, the sharp laughter after a brawl, the sting of salt in open wounds.

At the helm stands the Captain, not a ruler by birthright but by strength, wit, and sheer force of will. A pirate captain does not sit on a throne, he fights for his place, earns it with every battle won, every ship taken, every decision that keeps his crew alive. Respect is not given; it is demanded, and a captain who loses it won’t hold the title for long.

Beside him, the Quartermaster is the ship’s voice of reason, and, if necessary, its executioner. Elected by the crew, the quartermaster ensures the captain does not become a tyrant, settles disputes before blades are drawn, and ensures loot is divided fairly. He is the closest thing to a lawman among lawless men, though justice on a pirate ship is often swift, brutal, and written in blood.

The First Mate is the captain’s right hand, the one who keeps the crew in line and enforces the captain’s will. Where the quartermaster is a mediator, the first mate is a hammer, quick to discipline, quick to act, and the first to take command if the captain falls. He is the loudest voice in the heat of battle, the one who leads the charge when grappling hooks bite into enemy decks. The crew may curse him when he barks orders, but when the cannons roar and blades are drawn, they follow him without hesitation.

LIFE ABOARD A PIRATE SHIP

The Boatswain watches over the ship itself, keeping the masts standing and the sails full. He is the one who curses the loudest when a storm threatens to snap the rigging, the one who drives the crew like a taskmaster to keep their floating home from falling apart beneath them.

The Navigator, often the sharpest mind aboard, charts their course, deciphering maps and reading the stars with an unshaken confidence that turns water and wind into roadways. A miscalculation could send them into the navy’s grasp or onto the jagged teeth of an unseen reef.

The Gunner and his mates live for the roar of cannon fire, for the splintering wood of enemy hulls, for the thick, choking gunpowder smoke that signals another battle hard-won. The Surgeon, if the crew is lucky enough to have one, is the difference between life and a slow, agonizing death by infection. He works with rusty tools and steady hands, patching men back together with whatever he can find.

And then there is the rest of the crew, the beating heart of the ship. They climb the rigging like they were born to it, gamble away their last coin without hesitation, drink like every cup is their last, and fight like hell for the men at their side. They are a brotherhood built not by blood, but by shared survival. They may brawl, curse, and turn on each other over a game of cards, but when the cannons fire and the enemy closes in, there is no bond stronger.

They do not sail for a crown, nor for duty. They sail for gold, for glory, for the kind of freedom most men only dream of. They live with death at their heels, knowing each battle could be their last, but what a way to live. For them, the sea is not just water. It is home. It is a promise. It is everything.