Black Fleet
The Black Fleet is not merely a flotilla of pirates; it is an ever-shifting kingdom that roams the oceans of the world like a storm given form. Comprising dozens—perhaps hundreds—of ships, the fleet is a mobile empire of outlaws, corsairs, smugglers, and exiled sailors, all united under the infamous black banner of the crossed bones and skull.
At the helm of this floating dominion is Pirate King Theros Stormclaw, a brutal and charismatic tyrant. Once an admiral in the Largusian Imperial Navy, Stormclaw betrayed his crown in a mutiny that became legend. Clad in storm-touched armor and bearing an enchanted prosthetic claw that crackles with sea-born lightning, Theros commands not just loyalty—but awe. His word is law across the decks of the Black Fleet.
The ships of the Fleet range from sleek cutters and weathered sloops to monstrous dreadnoughts built from the bones of sunken leviathans and reinforced with stolen Wescovian iron. Their flagships rotate regularly, as the Fleet never settles in one formation for long—constant movement is their protection and their creed. The largest and most infamous ship, The Drowned Queen, is said to have a hull carved from obsidian and sails woven from the silk of deep-sea spiders. No map ever shows its location for long.
While feared by most navies, the Black Fleet is more than marauders—they are a society. They govern themselves through the Council of Flags, a volatile group of the most powerful captains, each given a say in matters of war, trade, and succession. Trials are held by combat. Laws are few, but ironclad: no betrayal within the fleet, no mercy for slavers, and no allegiance to land-based kings.
At the helm of this floating dominion is Pirate King Theros Stormclaw, a brutal and charismatic tyrant. Once an admiral in the Largusian Imperial Navy, Stormclaw betrayed his crown in a mutiny that became legend. Clad in storm-touched armor and bearing an enchanted prosthetic claw that crackles with sea-born lightning, Theros commands not just loyalty—but awe. His word is law across the decks of the Black Fleet.
The ships of the Fleet range from sleek cutters and weathered sloops to monstrous dreadnoughts built from the bones of sunken leviathans and reinforced with stolen Wescovian iron. Their flagships rotate regularly, as the Fleet never settles in one formation for long—constant movement is their protection and their creed. The largest and most infamous ship, The Drowned Queen, is said to have a hull carved from obsidian and sails woven from the silk of deep-sea spiders. No map ever shows its location for long.
While feared by most navies, the Black Fleet is more than marauders—they are a society. They govern themselves through the Council of Flags, a volatile group of the most powerful captains, each given a say in matters of war, trade, and succession. Trials are held by combat. Laws are few, but ironclad: no betrayal within the fleet, no mercy for slavers, and no allegiance to land-based kings.
Structure
The Black Fleet may be a kingdom of pirates, but it’s far from lawless. Decades under Theros Stormclaw’s rule have turned it into a disciplined, mobile society that may be chaotic in spirit, but with a structure that keeps it from imploding under its own ambition.
Title: King of Sails, Lord of the Tides, the Stormbound Sovereign
Authority: Absolute—though cunning enough to rarely wield it openly.
Theros acts as a guiding force to the fleet. He issues broad strategic goals (raiding targets, trade routes to avoid, rival powers to pressure) and lets his captains determine how to carry them out.
His personal vessel, the Maelstrom's Howl, serves as the royal flagship and de facto capital.
A small group of trusted lieutenants and ship captains; typically 6 to 8 at any given time. Each member commands a fleet segment and oversees a specific function: War, Supply, Navigation, Recruitment, Espionage, Discipline, and occasionally Diplomacy.
Council members are appointed by Stormclaw, though some seats are passed down by blood or seized by challenge. They rarely meet in full—only during major decisions or crises—mostly preferring to commune by encoded letter.
Captains of individual ships or even squadrons within the Black Fleet, commanders operate independently under the loose guidance of Council members but are expected to obey orders when given.
Loyalty is enforced not just by fear or greed, but by a powerful oath-binding ritual performed at sea—a blood and brine rite that curses betrayal.
The Pirate King – Theros Stormclaw
Title: King of Sails, Lord of the Tides, the Stormbound Sovereign
Authority: Absolute—though cunning enough to rarely wield it openly.
Theros acts as a guiding force to the fleet. He issues broad strategic goals (raiding targets, trade routes to avoid, rival powers to pressure) and lets his captains determine how to carry them out.
His personal vessel, the Maelstrom's Howl, serves as the royal flagship and de facto capital.
The Black Council
A small group of trusted lieutenants and ship captains; typically 6 to 8 at any given time. Each member commands a fleet segment and oversees a specific function: War, Supply, Navigation, Recruitment, Espionage, Discipline, and occasionally Diplomacy.
Council members are appointed by Stormclaw, though some seats are passed down by blood or seized by challenge. They rarely meet in full—only during major decisions or crises—mostly preferring to commune by encoded letter.
Fleet Commanders
Captains of individual ships or even squadrons within the Black Fleet, commanders operate independently under the loose guidance of Council members but are expected to obey orders when given.
Loyalty is enforced not just by fear or greed, but by a powerful oath-binding ritual performed at sea—a blood and brine rite that curses betrayal.
History
About twenty years ago, during a bitter and drawn-out war between the Largusian Empire and the western coastal elvish power on Peyurna, a young and decorated Imperial naval officer named Theros Vann led a daring assault on a pirate stronghold. But rather than return with prisoners, he came with a final message to the Imperial admiralty: “The sea answers to no crown.” With half the fleet under his command and the rest too slow to stop him, Theros vanished into open waters, rechristened himself Theros Stormclaw, and raised the black flag.
Those first years were chaos. Stormclaw and his rebels hunted down old pirate lords and coastal raiders, defeating them or recruiting them into a growing navy of the exiled and forgotten. What had once been scattered corsair bands became the first version of the Black Fleet—a mobile flotilla of renegades bound not by loyalty to land or law, but to the freedom of the sea.
As the decades passed, the Black Fleet evolved from a pirate confederacy into a self-contained society, complete with its own rituals, governance, and code. Every major seafaring nation has attempted, at least once, to stamp them out—none have succeeded. Stormclaw’s mastery of guerrilla naval warfare, his uncanny ability to predict the tides and weather, and the deep loyalty of his captains have kept the Fleet one step ahead.
Today, the Black Fleet is not just a myth—it is a sovereign threat. Merchant routes bend to avoid their path. Coastal cities raise defenses at the whisper of their approach. And some say Stormclaw is no longer content to be king of pirates—he intends to be king of the sea.
Those first years were chaos. Stormclaw and his rebels hunted down old pirate lords and coastal raiders, defeating them or recruiting them into a growing navy of the exiled and forgotten. What had once been scattered corsair bands became the first version of the Black Fleet—a mobile flotilla of renegades bound not by loyalty to land or law, but to the freedom of the sea.
As the decades passed, the Black Fleet evolved from a pirate confederacy into a self-contained society, complete with its own rituals, governance, and code. Every major seafaring nation has attempted, at least once, to stamp them out—none have succeeded. Stormclaw’s mastery of guerrilla naval warfare, his uncanny ability to predict the tides and weather, and the deep loyalty of his captains have kept the Fleet one step ahead.
Today, the Black Fleet is not just a myth—it is a sovereign threat. Merchant routes bend to avoid their path. Coastal cities raise defenses at the whisper of their approach. And some say Stormclaw is no longer content to be king of pirates—he intends to be king of the sea.
"The sea has no throne—but it has a crown, and it sails under black."
Type
Military, Navy Fleet
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Leader
Leader Title
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