The pirate ship cut through the open ocean, its sails full of wind, chasing yet another adventure — when suddenly, the captain’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding, his spyglass fixed on something in the distance.

“Man overboard! Get them aboard — now!”

The voice belonged to Captain Raven Cross, a name whispered in every port and tavern across the seas. Tales of the elusive pirate haunted merchant vessels — a ghost on the water, feared and untouchable.

They spotted her during the storm. In the heart of the open sea, clinging to a shattered plank of wood, a girl barely held on to life.Captain Raven himself had ordered the launch of a small boat, ignoring his crew’s uneasy murmurs:

“It’s bad luck,” — they warned, — “to haul someone in after the sea’s already claimed them.”

But he didn’t care.

She was brought aboard, soaked to the bone, unconscious. Raven stepped forward, motioning for his crew to stay back. He crouched beside her, uncorked his flask, and held it to her lips.

“You don’t look much like a mermaid to be swimming out here, sweetheart,” — he said, his voice a gravelly tease. — “Welcome aboard the Crimson Serpent.”