Eberlinus Blau

Captain

The northern coast of Marraberg has been subjected to raids from the Samat Isles for nearly two centuries, with the dragon-worshipping raiders coming to carry off treasure, livestock and people for their gods. Their flaming weapon, Yunoe's Breath, a stream of fire that ignites even water on contact and is said to be derived from dragon's breath, makes it extremely dangerous to face their ships on the water. Indeed, most coastal settlements prefer to fortify themselves and take the battle on land as the raiders come to them and common military wisdom is that one should never try to fight the islanders on the sea.
But not everyone listens to the common wisdom. Most of them die, but one who has become legendary for ignoring common sense and somehow not only surviving but prospering is Eberlinus Blau.

Legend

Eberlinus's origins are unclear, muddied by myth and time, but he has been said to be the illegitimate son of a noble, to once have lived in a town that was raided by the islanders, to have come from distant lands and adopted a Marran name; so many are the variations that one might as well chose their favourite. The details only become reliable after his career as a pirate begins.
Eberlinus is the captain of a ship called the Festerkurs, and has gathered around him a loyal crew and a small fleet of followers (of him or his success). The Nördliche Angreifer, or Northern Raiders, as they are known, began as just Eberlinus, a dozen others, and his ship, and would sail along the Marran coast picking off targets of opportunity. With success came money and fame, bringing more people to Eberlinus' banner, and eventually even more ships. As the group grew, they claimed one of the outer islands and made their home there, and naturally legends of Eberlinus' treasure filling the islands caves have spread to every port town and city. The group's base has not been found by others since, though they have presumably left it empty on their voyage to the Samat Isles.

For years, Eberlinus and his crew haunted the coasts of Marraberg and even ranged into Fulmany, a constant thorn in the side of shipping of the region, and famous for pulling off daring raids under the hardest of circumstances. In several cases, Ebelinus was able to snatch merchant vessels out from under the nose of their escorts, and though he has been captured several times nobody has been able to hold him long enough for an execution. A few years into his piratical career, Eberlinus acquired some of the Islander's fire weapons, and more importantly enough of the strange fuel they use to make practical use of them. At this point, Eberlinus changed from a problem to a terror, and few captains would consider fighting him when his ship was sighted, preferring to surrender their cargo than end up a burned hulk on the ocean floor.
Eberlinus has no love for the Samat, and the turning point in his career came when, while he was resupplying at the coastal town of Mergen, ships from the isles were sighted on the horizon. The townspeople prepared to defend themselves, but the hasty and disorganised levy of a small town is no match for a Samat warband. The pirates left port immediately, and made haste to leave, but found he could not leave the townsfolk to their fate. For his own reasons, Eberlinus returned with the (at the time) three ships at his command, and turned the islanders weapons upon their own beached longships. Ebelinus prepared to lead his men against the raiders in the town, but demoralised by the burning of their ships and now being trapped on the mainland, the islanders quickly surrendered. Eberlinus left as the town began reccovery from the raid, his ships holds filled with what valuables could be salvaged from the burned and burning longships.
Eberlinus began raiding the returning ships of the islanders, catching them as they were laden down with plunder and sailing his ship safely through the fire they threw at it (some accounts, which are not credible but are popular, tell that his ship is immune to the flames) to steal away the treasure. Sometimes he would repeat his original trick, waiting for the islanders to commit to battle ashore before claiming their ships and their loot. This became so lucrative that Eberlinus no longer needed to raid ships from his homeland, a relief to merchants, but Eberlinus and his fleet wanted to be able to spend their treasure, and the only way to do that while still conducting the lucrative raids upon the islanders was to be forgiven their piracy and allowed to walk freely through the major coastal cities.
Reaching a deal with Duke Erlengrad, who holds much of the northeast Marran coast, he was forgiven for his crimes in return for a large share of the treasure he had amassed, and swearing an oath not to attack Marran shipping, but instead to only predate Samat ships. Eberlinus continued in this endeavour for five years, but eventually grew convinced that there were things of unthinkable value out in the Samat Isles themselves - after all, if dragons do live there, then there must also be treasure. He convinced his men to join him in a quest to the Isles, seeking riches and fame, and departed.
Eberlinus is only occasionally heard of today, three years later, as he is still out in the Samat Islands and from what filters back still a menace to their ships. It seems he has not yet found whatever treasure he went looking for, even as occasionally one of his ships returns, laden down with jewels, gold and silver, and tales of battles with the Islanders.

Year of Birth

1009 MC 51 Years old