The "Black Lord" is a man of mystery to most in the New World. Little is known of his origins, but "facts" about him have arisen over time. It is said he commands a crew of former black slaves from the wild, interior regions of Oxis, where Pyreans rarely travel and little is known of the strange jungle and disease-infested lands.
Word is that this "Black Lord" may or may not have been the personal slave and body servant of a now deceased Daemish plantation owner in the New World, who may or may not have blessed the savage pirate criminal with the gift of education. Survivors of his attacks claim the man speaks with an educated Daemish voice and accent, while the rest of his crew appear to be nothing more than mere savages.
How a slave came to run a pirate vessel is unknown, and several rumors circulate the various port cities. The one that most people claim is true, and which very well might be, is that when his master passed away he was inherited by the man's heir. Having little desire for the company of slaves, the heir decided to discard him, and sold to a merchant ship as part of a press-gang slave crew. The details are unclear, but people claim at one point, perhaps during a storm, or maybe even during a pirate attack upon the ship, he led a mutiny of slaves, killing all the Daemishmen aboard and claiming the ship, the "Sea Mare" as his own private vessel.
They say any white man who sees a ship flying a black flag with a red diagonal slash through it had best fill sail and catch as much wind as they can, because they will receive no mercy from the pirate captain, the "Black Lord".
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There is one man who knows, without a doubt, the true story behind the "Black Lord". Daniel Freeman is the "Black Lord". Surprisingly, the rumor as to his background is very close to the truth. He was the slave of a rich Daemish plantation owner who would later find himself as a slave aboard a merchant vessel. However, his former master never died. He trusted Daniel to conduct errands for him. On a trip to San Saveda to conduct business, he was sent to deliver a message for his master. While enroute back to his master, a gang of thugs, angered to see what they believed to be a wealthy freed man in fancy clothing above his station, beat him, tied him up, and hauled him off to be sold to a shipping company.
He had not personally experienced mistreatment at the hands of slave owners during his time on the plantation, being the personal slave of the plantation owner had its benefits. He did, however, witness the brutality of the slave overseers in the fields from time-to-time, but he had still convinced himself it was not as bad as it seemed. After being enslaved and forced to do back-breaking work on a transport ship, given barely enough food to keep him alive.
Daniel and the other slaves, though not allowed to talk to each other, had nonetheless devised various non-verbal communication techniques. Over time they plotted their attack, and one dark night they enacted it.
The plan was simple, but effective. While it was late at night, and the majority of the slaves were shackled below decks, they began calling out in despair. When their guard went to investigate, it appeared that the largest, strongest slave had finally died. Doing the only logical thing he could, the guard went to get a partner and returned, unshackling the "corpse", preparing to throw it overboard. The large slave caught the two sailors by surprise, and he was able to kill the guard with the keys, while the other one was able to escape.
Quickly unshackling his fellow slaves, a number of them were able to free themselves before more sailors could get to the hold and fight back. Even though the sailors were armed, the slaves had numbers on their side, and while some slaves kept the Daemishmen occupied fighting, another went and unshackled the rest.
Some time during the fight, the slaves were able to gain control of some weapons and began to really turn the tide of the battle into their own favor. Eventually, when all was said and done, the Daemish crew were dead, along with about half the slaves, but the ship now belonged to the freed men, to be captained by the one who planned the uprising, Daniel Freeman, now known by other merchants and sailors as the "Black Lord".
OOC: I hope this is kind of what you were looking for, I want to develop his background and character more as the NES progresses, but as of now the rest of the world knows very little of this guy, and most people probably assume he's just a story told by Astajarian sailors who are paranoid of slave revolts and the like.
Word is that this "Black Lord" may or may not have been the personal slave and body servant of a now deceased Daemish plantation owner in the New World, who may or may not have blessed the savage pirate criminal with the gift of education. Survivors of his attacks claim the man speaks with an educated Daemish voice and accent, while the rest of his crew appear to be nothing more than mere savages.
How a slave came to run a pirate vessel is unknown, and several rumors circulate the various port cities. The one that most people claim is true, and which very well might be, is that when his master passed away he was inherited by the man's heir. Having little desire for the company of slaves, the heir decided to discard him, and sold to a merchant ship as part of a press-gang slave crew. The details are unclear, but people claim at one point, perhaps during a storm, or maybe even during a pirate attack upon the ship, he led a mutiny of slaves, killing all the Daemishmen aboard and claiming the ship, the "Sea Mare" as his own private vessel.
They say any white man who sees a ship flying a black flag with a red diagonal slash through it had best fill sail and catch as much wind as they can, because they will receive no mercy from the pirate captain, the "Black Lord".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is one man who knows, without a doubt, the true story behind the "Black Lord". Daniel Freeman is the "Black Lord". Surprisingly, the rumor as to his background is very close to the truth. He was the slave of a rich Daemish plantation owner who would later find himself as a slave aboard a merchant vessel. However, his former master never died. He trusted Daniel to conduct errands for him. On a trip to San Saveda to conduct business, he was sent to deliver a message for his master. While enroute back to his master, a gang of thugs, angered to see what they believed to be a wealthy freed man in fancy clothing above his station, beat him, tied him up, and hauled him off to be sold to a shipping company.
He had not personally experienced mistreatment at the hands of slave owners during his time on the plantation, being the personal slave of the plantation owner had its benefits. He did, however, witness the brutality of the slave overseers in the fields from time-to-time, but he had still convinced himself it was not as bad as it seemed. After being enslaved and forced to do back-breaking work on a transport ship, given barely enough food to keep him alive.
Daniel and the other slaves, though not allowed to talk to each other, had nonetheless devised various non-verbal communication techniques. Over time they plotted their attack, and one dark night they enacted it.
The plan was simple, but effective. While it was late at night, and the majority of the slaves were shackled below decks, they began calling out in despair. When their guard went to investigate, it appeared that the largest, strongest slave had finally died. Doing the only logical thing he could, the guard went to get a partner and returned, unshackling the "corpse", preparing to throw it overboard. The large slave caught the two sailors by surprise, and he was able to kill the guard with the keys, while the other one was able to escape.
Quickly unshackling his fellow slaves, a number of them were able to free themselves before more sailors could get to the hold and fight back. Even though the sailors were armed, the slaves had numbers on their side, and while some slaves kept the Daemishmen occupied fighting, another went and unshackled the rest.
Some time during the fight, the slaves were able to gain control of some weapons and began to really turn the tide of the battle into their own favor. Eventually, when all was said and done, the Daemish crew were dead, along with about half the slaves, but the ship now belonged to the freed men, to be captained by the one who planned the uprising, Daniel Freeman, now known by other merchants and sailors as the "Black Lord".
OOC: I hope this is kind of what you were looking for, I want to develop his background and character more as the NES progresses, but as of now the rest of the world knows very little of this guy, and most people probably assume he's just a story told by Astajarian sailors who are paranoid of slave revolts and the like.
