Chapter 235: Pirate King
[Faced with your doubts, Tia Dalma told you without hesitation: Yes. Only when one desires something with a pure, undistracted heart will the compass point the way—just like how she feels about you. Since when did witches start flirting like this? This sudden, cheesy pickup line caught you off guard, and you didn't even realize at first that she was teasing you.]
[You've seen Pirates of the Caribbean, so you know Tia Dalma is actually the sea goddess Calypso in disguise—a true queen of the seas. Davy Jones, the Lord of the Deep, was once one of her lovers. He had been a brave Dutch sailor who loved both the sea and women, but the woman he loved happened to be the sea goddess Calypso herself. Seeing his skill, and knowing he loved her and the ocean alike, she decided to make him captain of the Flying Dutchman.]
[But agreements with gods often come with restrictions or curses. In his case, the curse was that he could only set foot on land once every ten years, and during that time, he had to use the ship to gather those lost at sea and make them his crew. Of course, being the queen of the sea, Calypso tricked him aboard and then, when the ten years were up, stood him up without a second thought. Furious, Davy Jones joined forces with eight pirate lords, using nine Pieces of Eight to seal her within a mortal body. From then on, dominion over the seas passed into human hands.]
[Calypso's current form is that of a black woman with her teeth painted black. You didn't mind the idea of a "friendly match" with a goddess, but your tastes aren't that exotic—especially since she likely wanted you to deal with Davy Jones for her. What a joke. The man is immortal and commands the legendary deep-sea monster, the Kraken—a massive octopus 155 meters long and weighing 300 tons! So, you decisively rejected Calypso's advances, assuring her with the classic "next time, for sure."]
[On November 30, 1718, you ran into Jack Sparrow in Port Royal. You learned that, as in history, his beloved ship had been burned and sunk by order of East India Trading Company boss Beckett, after Jack freed a cargo of African slaves the company was transporting. Jack asked you for a favor—to lend him a ship to search for Davy Jones.]
[While you are ruthless toward enemies, you've always been generous to friends. Without a second thought, you agreed and gifted Jack a top-of-the-line single-masted vessel. But that rascal was trouble waiting to happen. Just as you were setting sail for Tortuga, you spotted Jack not far away at sea—summoning Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman! In the midst of the towering waves, a tattered ghost ship surfaced from the depths, draped in seaweed, its hull a decaying black with an eerie green glow. Barnacle-encrusted undead sailors bustled about on deck.]
[This was Davy Jones' flagship—the Flying Dutchman! The bounty on his head in Britain alone is 60,000 gold coins—eighteen times higher than that of Atlantic pirate lord Jocard. He isn't a senseless killer, diligently performing his duty of ferrying lost souls, but any ship foolish enough to provoke the Dutchman is doomed—torn apart and dragged beneath the waves by his pet Kraken. Only by staying far from the sea could one hope to survive.]
[As in the original story, you watched Jack Sparrow bargain with Davy Jones—offering to serve aboard the ghost ship for 100 years in exchange for the return of the Wicked Wench. You also witnessed the breathtaking sight of the ship rising from the seabed—Davy Jones' power was enough to put you on high alert.]
[No one could have predicted that three of the four future legendary ships of the seas would gather here.]
[Next, Davy Jones turned his gaze on you, asking if you would join the Flying Dutchman's crew. You: ???]
[Thanks to Jack Sparrow's mediation, Davy Jones did not press the matter. Instead, he only asked you to deliver messages from his sailors to their families ashore—an easy enough task. What truly surprised you was seeing Blackbeard among the crew. After dying by your hand and being thrown into the sea, he had somehow undergone a ritual to join the Dutchman's ranks. Not that it was a blessing—he would now roam the deep forever, never setting foot on land again.]
[On the afternoon of November 30, 1718, after reclaiming the Wicked Wench, Jack Sparrow outfitted her with black sails and renamed her the Black Pearl. You witnessed the moment with mixed emotions.]
[To you, the Black Pearl felt almost alive, much like your own Pineapple, but even faster—arguably the fastest ship in the world. Sailing for Tortuga together, she was one-third quicker despite departing at the same time. You couldn't figure out the principle behind it.]
[Upon reaching Tortuga, Jack began recruiting sailors to head for South America in search of the legendary treasure of Cortés. He told you that in 1519, Hernán Cortés had wielded the Sword of Cortés to conquer the Aztec Empire. The sword was said to grant limitless power—enough to subjugate an entire empire—and it was hidden with his treasure. He proposed that the two of you team up: your compass, his manpower.]
[You were somewhat tempted. While you're not a diehard Pirates of the Caribbean fan, you faintly remembered the Aztec treasure subplot from the first movie. The Aztecs had presented Cortés with a stone chest containing 882 gold coins, each tainted with blood to quell his lust for slaughter. When he refused to halt his conquest, their gods cursed the treasure: anyone who took a coin would become an immortal skeleton. That was how the first film began. But after some thought, you turned down Jack's offer—you had no interest in such an adventure for now. Besides, you had more important matters to handle.]
[From November 30, 1718, to September 7, 1723, you continued operating in the Caribbean as a privateer. With the living Pineapple and over twenty other ships, you took down numerous Spanish and French merchant vessels and warships, earning whispers of being the tenth Pirate King. During this time, you heard nothing of Jack Sparrow, but did hear that his first mate Barbossa was sailing the Black Pearl in the Caspian Sea—Jack had no doubt been betrayed by his crew and lost the ship yet again.]
[In 1723, using your own methods, you raided a large Spanish naval port—sinking four warships, capturing seven more, one of which was the largest class of warship of the era.]
[The feat earned you another audience with British Governor Weatherby Swann, who told you your achievements were enough for royal recognition. Conveniently, Britain was preparing to declare the Bahamas a colony, but its capital, Nassau—known as the Pirate Republic—wouldn't easily allow foreign control.]
[Britain planned to appoint a privateer as Governor of the Bahamas, to fight pirates with pirate law. Originally, they intended to recommend Roger Wood, a Welsh privateer, but in terms of accomplishments, you were clearly the better candidate.]
[You only smiled at this—you had long been planning to part ways with Britain. You had become a privateer merely to get your start, but now you had grown powerful, commanding the legendary Pineapple and a sizable fleet. Whether you stayed depended entirely on their offer.]
[They did not disappoint. On November 6, 1723—your birthday—you were knighted and officially appointed Governor of the Bahamas. For now, it was in name only, but your next goal was clear: drive every pirate out of Nassau, and become the Pirate King in the truest sense.]