Evermist

The simple utterance of the word "Evermist" is enough to bring shivers to the spine of any sailor. A long long time ago, the south-eastern shores of Salona were a land of plenty, filled with good catches and surprisingly devoid of dangerous sea creatures, such as the dragon turtles or leviathans that hide in the northern seas. However, the Evermist changed this forever. With the fall of Ruòn, an island civilization known for worshiping the waters, this dark and unending veil of fog rose from the depths. Since then, venturing past the veil is seen as a death sentence. No fewer than three ships have ever returned from going into unseen waters, but the rest were never seen again. Not a single crewman, not a single plank of wood, nothing washed ashore. Braver pirates sometimes soar the seas on the edge of the mist, hoping to be unseen by the coastal guard, but no trading ship dares go too far off the coast, regardless of what treasures may hide beyond. If a captain proclaims themselves brave enough to sail away, destruction is certain, whether it be at the hand of a mutiny, or at the tentacles of the Evermist's corruption. Of the few crews that have indeed survived the horrors of the Evermist, only one openly speaks about it. Forming an expedition to the once holy isles of Lyskal, the crew of the pirate queen Blackhawk Tamuu spent 10 years on the sea. To them, it only felt like a few days, no more than 2 weeks. The only reason they proclaim to have not lost their minds completely is due to Tamuu's voodoo magics, which were close enough to those of the Evermist to serve as a barrier. The sailors speak of their minds twisting, turning some of their crewmen into vicious bloodthirsty aberrations, but also of a small shed on the isle of Lyskal, where the corruption subsides, due to a lullaby-singing person, who calls themselves the Lantern Vendor. This Lantern Vendor, says the crew, is barely sane, keeping themselves together with their lullaby and stew made from the vile aberrations of the isle. But one thing's for sure, what is past the shroud of mist is not of the human world. It's an alien presence of immense power. The other crew of great importance that has returned from beyond the Evermist is the crew of the Feathered Butcher, a ship under the command of a mysterious masked pirate known as The Raven. The crew of this ship, always masked and renowned for their brutality, lurk in the Evermist and ambush ships with immense speed and soulless aggression. What's more, there are countless stories of The Raven being heavily wounded in battle, but never dying. His age, by now, should be in the hundreds, as he's been captaining the ship for at least 500 years. Whether it's the same man behind the mask, or whether the title has been passed on time and time again, the viciousness of his crew has remained. Nothing is ever spoken about the mist they dwell in, not to outsiders and not to members of the crew.