Ship's Journal of Pirate Frigate 'The Black Sun' The Year of Our Lord, 1613

The smell of saltwater, wet wood, & canvas, mixed with iron tang of blood from battles past, clings to the air as the Black Sun, a wicked three-masted experimental 30 gun frigate inspired by sleek lines of Dutch "Dunkirker" privateer vessels, crests the waves on the hunt for merchant ships from Catholic nations. The frigate, lean & deadly, cuts through the night with black sails casting shadow upon water. Standing at its helm is Sir John Murchison, the man they call "Demon." At 40 years old, he is an imposing figure, tall & broad-shouldered, his frame forged by decades of piracy, war, & righteous fury. His dark hair, streaked with silver, falls over a face marked by old scars, and his sharp blue eyes burn with the cold fire of a zealot. Aboard the Black Sun, Murchison’s presence commands the deck like a storm about to break. His booming voice, thick with his Ulster-Scot brogue, rolls over the ship like distant thunder.

"Ye be the new blood, aye? Yer work’s cut out fer ye. On this ship, ye fight not just fer gold but fer the glory o' the Almighty’s vengeance upon this cursed land an' the papists who curse it. We sail under God’s righteous hand. Every heathen we send to the depths pleases the Lord, an' the treasures we take? Aye, they fund His holy war."

At his side stands his wife, Caterina Murchison, ruthless, cunning, and as much a pirate as he. Together, they’ve carved a bloody path across the seas, leaving only death & devastation in their wake. Murchison’s devotion to his faith and to her is the only thing that rivals his lust for power. Behind them, the crew, weathered, silent, and made grim by years of violence, moves with trained efficiency, each man & woman having sworn their souls to the Demon Captain’s bloody crusade.

"On the Black Sun, we make war upon the enemies o’ God. Those tribes o’ savages on the shore? They'll soon feel our muskets, an’ any soul crossin' our path will know we hold dominion over these waters."