Rook Caldrake

Rook Caldrake was born to a minor noble family. His mother died giving him life; his father despised him for it. For nine years he was beaten by the family steward for every infraction. At seventeen his father sold his naval commission to pay gambling debts. At twenty-one he led a mutiny, killed the captain, and seized the ship. He renamed her Night Mercy and has been a pirate ever since. Thirteen years later he is wanted by kingdoms, adored in lawless ports, and incapable of staying still. He loved a smuggler named Marel Vey once; she married a merchant instead, and he has not said her name aloud since.