Queen Mejela

The Ragged Fleet is a federation of pirate captains, loosely arrayed around the self-appointed 'pirate queen', Mejela, captain of The Drowned Man. Mejela built and manages her fleet using a combination of political marriage, adoption, and fostering.

A ruthless and successful pirate, little is known about Mejela's life before she came to international infamy and what is known is obscured by legend-building and rumour. Mejela claims to been born on board a ship, during either a battle, a storm, or both, and to have never set foot on dry land. She claims to have first conceived of her lifetime project at the age of eight, when she was learning to read from history books. What is known is that, at the age of thirteen, she married her first spouse, the sea, anointing herself her crew's Swellsinger. Two years later, she alleges to have married the sky and two years after that, she took her first mortal husband, Merdan Bohar, known as Redhand, and birthed her first child.

Redhand was reported killed in battle with the Ajeian Navy in (year), but the Navy failed to sink his ship, Silver Skein and were forced to retreat after taking losses in a sudden tempest. Mejela came to international attention a few months later, leading a series of raids against merchant vessels as captain of Silver Skein, inverting her Swellsinger gifts to summon storms instead of quelling them.

Immediately on assuming her first command, Mejela began forging alliances through political marriages and adoptions. At the age of 53, Mejela has over 30 spouses and around 150 children and step-children, between them captaining over a hundred ships. Beyond her large family, dozens of other ships have joined the alliance.

Mejela's personal ship, The Drowned Man is a replica 6th century galleon, immediately recognisable among the modern vessels that comprise the rest of the Ragged Fleet. Although its triple masts and gilded wood gives the impression of a historical artefact, the ship is fast and well armed, as heavily-laden with protective enchantments as any Bjerian Empire warship.