Name:
Mariana Maquinilla Escarabajo

Alias/Nickname:
Siren, The Siren, Witchmother

Group Name:
Cult of the Siren

Culture:
Spain (Caribbean Colonies)

Flag/Symbol:


Personal Ship:
The Serpentine, Carrack - Fully Crewed

Reputation:
Mariana is well known firstly for her connection to her aristocratic Spanish family living in Caribbean colonies. In more underground groups, though, Mariana is the recognized Prophet of the Cult of the Siren.

Wealth:
High, distributed between a large amount of gold tithe and precious gemstones.

Background Type:
Colonial Aristocrat

Background:
Most delving into the ill fate of the ocean’s dark waters expect life on land to be much less exciting. When it comes to the life of the Aristocratic family of the Escarabajo lineage, things are anything but bland. Mariana was born into the famed family, but had little to do with their above board dealings. The family business was all dealt with by her brother and her father, but that didn’t mean the Escarabajo women were discounted altogether.

While the modern dealings of the colonial business were dealt with above board, Mariana’s mother was a major player in a large secret society of sea witches that practiced in Caribbean ports. It wasn’t long into her life when Mariana was indoctrinated into the society as well, acting as an acolyte witch of the Children of the Seamother. The group is said to send whispering missionaries to various ports to convert and spread their word. The vile and ruthless practices of the witches tend to put off most, though. As she grew, Mariana developed well as one of the star students of the cult’s teachings. She was on track to be one of the society’s operators in her young adulthood, but things for the Children of the Seamother didn’t go as well as planned as the years ticked on.

When tensions between colonial officers and the Children of the Seamother came to a head, a series of executions were slated to take place regarding the society’s high ranking members. Word has spread that Mariana’s name was on this list, and as far as records show, she was hanged along with a number of the other witches. In whispers around Caribbean ports, it is rumored that she has been spotted alive off the mainland, and that the Children of the Seamother now operates in a splinter sect.

Feeling forsaken by her closest allies and family, Mariana reformed the lore behind the society, creating her own Cult of the Siren based around a different oceanic deity. When a number of ships disappeared only days after the execution, it is believed that a number of the Cult’s remaining members banded together to seek refuge in the seas. Mariana, embodying the deity she created, ‘The Siren’, leads the cultists in their quest for Salvation to new lands for widespread practice.

Organization Name:
The Cult of the Siren

Reputation:
The cultists are revered for their cunning and underhanded tactics. They are most commonly seen as a sneaking threat, never quite striking in a way that is expected. When they do find themselves in conflict, though, the cultists are no strangers to torture, execution, or mass murder.

Initial Contact Behavior:
The Cult of the Siren’s fleet is unnervingly friendly, but firm in demands.

Typical Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
The Cultists tend to act with an eerie and intimidating calm. When provoked, however, they act with ruthless efficiency, fearing no bloodbath in the name of their deity.

Backstory:
When the Cult of the Siren splintered from the remnants of the Children of the Seamother, a number of ships disappeared from Caribbean ports all in one mysterious strike on the night of the society’s Grand Witch executions. When the prophetic Siren called for a reformation of the Cult’s truest followers, Mariana took command and fled with the remnants of her organizations loyal followers. Now sailing towards uncharted territory, the Cult seeks to gain a foothold for their operations as an independent force to be reckoned with.

Fleet:
The Serpentine - Carrack

Herald of the Depths - Sloop

Jellyfish - Sloop armed with cannons

Controlled Establishments:
None

Name: Christopher Bowes
Alias/Nickname: The Terrorsquid
Culture: Scottish
Flag/Symbol
Personal Ship: The Alestorm - Galleon - Minimum Crew
Reputation: Known across the world as one of the most fearsome pirates to ever sail the seven seas. A merchant's worst nightmare, a painful thorn in the Colonial Elites' side, and either the best possible friend or the worst possible enemy to his fellow pirates. At least, that's how it used to be.
Wealth: Very Little Gold
Background Type: Mythical Pirate
Backstory: There was once a time when the mere mention of his name could cause a packed tavern to fall silent, when the crews of entire merchant fleets would abandon ship at the sight of his flag, when the Colonial Elites would grind their teeth to a fine powder at reports of his activities on their shipping lanes. But that time has passed.

Christopher Bowes descent from legend began when he ambushed a lone schooner. Surprisingly, the crew of the schooner put up one hell of a fight. Inevitably, they were slaughtered to a man and the captain was keelhauled. But before he died, the captain of the schooner warned Bowes to leave the cargo be if he knew what was good for him. This vague threat wasn't nearly enough to dissuade the Terrorsquid. If anything, it made him even more eager to find out what they had locked in the cargo hold. But when his men got the shockingly well locked doors open, Bowes found the hold empty save for a blank scroll of strange blue paper. His curiosity piqued, Bowes took the scroll with him to see if he could find out if there was anything special about it. Three days later, the vast armadas of the Colonial Elites lay waste to the Terrorsquid's fleet in search of something they referred to as the Map from the Sky. Bowes flagship, the Alestorm, was the only ship to make it out in one piece.

With his reputation as an unstoppable force of seaborne extortion in tatters, most of his ship's crew killed during the fighting, and most of his wealth lying at the bottom of the ocean with the rest of his fleet, Bowes now seeks to claw his way back to his former glory, regain his lost riches, rebuild his fleet, and find out what the Map from the Sky was. All while the Colonial Elites' naval forces pursue him tirelessly and what little remains of the Alestorm's crew grow closer and closer to mutiny with each passing day.

Name: Mason Wright
Alias/Nickname: Captain Clive, The Judge
Group Name: The Golden Buccaneers
Culture: English
Flag/Symbol:

Personal Ship: The Pearl, Carrack
Reputation: Mason is renowned in the English Royal Navy, with his noble background and excellent skills, he rose through the ranks and gained his position. However, while he was able to get the job done, he didn't seem to follow protocol very well. He was given a general discharge.
Wealth: Moderate
Background Type: Colonial Aristocrat
Background:
Mason was born from noble blood, which was a big reason for why he was given the opportunity to rise in rank, however he also showed grand skill in naval combat. Unfortunately, he slowly began to disobey established rule and law, and made his own rules. He began firing on site on suspected criminals and enemies of the Royal Navy, and executed criminals without sentencing. He didn't do it often enough to be castrated of his rank, however it was enough that it was recommended he left the Navy before he tarnished his family name. Many service members under his original command had grown attached to his ways, while many found them outright wrong, however those that fell in line with his command, eventually found t heir way back under his command after he left the Navy, feeling it needed a much harsher hand than what was currently commanded in the Royal Navy.

Some of these men swore loyalty to him, and some swore loyalty to his noble blood over the Kings, which was outright treason, of course. However, by the time this was found out, Mason had already left to the New World, as he wanted to command and rule from his own position, with his own rules and laws. He knew the world was becoming too soft, and the enemies were looking for that weak spot, which Mason didn't want to defend... if he could harden and fix that spot.