Black Calypso

Draven is the second born son of a wealthy merchant, as such he doesn't have to worry about inheriting his fathers' business like his elder brother, and can follow his own path in life. His choice? To become a warrior. He goes to school, and while he does very well, he turns out to be just as average as his classmates in education and popularity. When he graduates, he is sent to the dock yards, as all the positions in the guardhouse for the Royal Family are currently filled, to try to gain employment with a captain and gain more experience in being a fighter. He puts on his swords on the sheaths that hang off his back and makes his way towards the pier.

Once at the dock yards, Draven sees four ships. One is obviously an Admirals ship, the next is a Corporal's ship and the third is a General's ship. Not wanting to be stuck under the rule of the military, Draven turns and sees the fourth ship. Three masted with black sails, the wood done in a metallic sheen of black color and two decks is all he sees besides the gang plank that extends from the main deck to the pier. Turning in that direction, he boards the ship and looks around in confusion as there is no one on the deck.

He doesn't hear any sounds of footsteps, nor does he hear any doors opening, but just as he completes his turning he sees a group of men standing in front of him heavily armed with swords and pistols all aimed at him. The leader of the men, a large burly man with a handle moustache, walks up to him. "Who are you and what are you doing on this ship?" The voice is rough, almost like he had never used it before now.

"I've … been sent to … try to find a ship to join. I … just graduated from the Academy." Right about that time thigh-length boots slam heavily on the planks and all the men back away from the figure. Draven looks in surprise as the boots lead up to very feminine legs that are barely covered with a forest green scrap of cloth that splits up the thighs and ends just below the boot edge. The narrow waist is exposed as the skirt hugs the figure's, who is obviously female, hips. A raiper hangs off her left hip as her waist dips in and a thick band of cloth covers the nipples on her breasts. Her waist-length golden hair falls from her face and another forest green cloth covers her lower face completely.

The men, who were all gathered around her, are bowed respectively towards her. Their right hands twisted to where their palms face outward against the center of their chests and their faces aimed at the deck. She looks at Draven, who immediately recognizes the actions of the men as what is to be done to who is obviously the Captain of the ship, as he too bows respectively towards her. After he completes his bow, the female turns to the man who had spoken to Draven earlier and whispers in his ear and then walks off the deck and goes below.

"Guess this is your lucky day pup. Welcome to the Black Calypso. The Captain says you are to start in the kitchen helping our cook Twise prepare the meals. Follow me." Draven stares after the figure for a short while before following the man who introduces himself as the Captain's Second in Command, and pays attention to the direction that the Second takes him. They arrive at the door of the kitchen and Draven hesitates, which causes the Second to literally kick his backside so hard that Draven crashes through the door and lands face first in the middle of a bustling kitchen. The activity found within so opposite of what was above that Draven had to wonder if the kitchen crew were the ones who operated the ship as well.

A loud booming voice laughs out and a large man appears before Draven. Picking himself up, Draven sees a large round man standing in front of him. "Guess you're tha new recruit," the man says in an equally booming voice. "Welp, get off to the roots then. Them 'tators don't peal demselves ya know? Oh, and by the way. Putcha blades there by the door. Taint no one gonna steal them whiles theys on board." And the man, who could be no one else BUT Twise, walks back to a large soup pot that was sitting on an open fire and begins stirring the contents within.

Draven walks towards the pile of potatoes, looking as the spuds loom over his head and graze the top of the room, before sighing and settling down to do as he was ordered. However, it seemed that the finer points of blade work had stuck from when he was at the Academy and he soon speeds through the potatoes. Twise, who had been watching Draven out of the corner of his eye, casually reaches over to a rope that hangs close by and tugs on it. Within moments the Captain and her Second arrive at the kitchen. Draven sees them and watches as Twise motions towards him several times while talking to the Captain. He stands to his feet and bows towards her as she approaches.

"So, you are good with blades I'm told," the delicate female voice calls out from behind the mask that convers her lower face.

"I'm good with a lot of things, not just blades," came his sarcastic remark.

"How dare you!" The Second lunges towards Draven, but the Captain holds up her right hand and stops the man. As Draven looks into her eyes he can see them twinkling with mirth.

"I enjoy hearing humor every once in a while," she starts off saying before looking Draven over one time. He can barely see the tops of her cheeks as she smirks behind the mask. "Since you are doing so well with the delicate bladework, why don't we see how you do with butchering?" She then steps to the side, and with the same hand that had stopped her Second in command she points to a table that stands in the middle of the room. "There you go. Start off with the half-pig and lets' see where we need to go from there." The Captain then walks out of the room and her Second follows her while Twise then tells Draven what pieces of meat needs to be taken from the carcass.

Draven goes to the table and picks up a butchers knife, hacking at the pig. While he DOES manage to butcher the pig the way he was told, because he decided to use a large knife for even the small delicate work needed to peel flesh from bone, he is soon covered in pig blood, meat and skin. Twise shakes his head at the mess, but orders other members of the kitchen crew to take the butchered meat to the storage unit and tells Draven to go to his room and get cleaned up. When Draven confesses that no one told him where he would be boarding while on the ship Twise orders another crew member to guide Draven to the room where he would be staying.

While on his way to the room Draven discovers that the ship holds 6 levels. The first level is where the Captain and her sisters reside, the second is where those who are below them in command. The third level was where half of those who worked on the top deck stayed, and the forth deck was where the other half as well as the kitchen and mess hall were kept. The fifth deck was for the new recruits and the sixth deck was where the prisoners were kept by the Dungeon Master. It was also the home of the Guardians who roamed the ship and he was never to wander the passageways and corridors alone when he was to be elsewhere. Taking note of all this information Draven follows his crewmate to the room that was supposed to be his, and after closing the door, looks around.

He takes note of the bunk for where he can sleep, as well as the table and chairs that have been placed in the middle of the room. The warm wood seems to welcome him as he sees an armoire and dresser. He crosses over to the armoire and as he opens it he sees that it is filled with clothing as well as belts, boots, underhose, under clothes and a variety of hats that are all appearing to be in his size. Of course he doesn't notice the dirt and blood that is on his hands as he reaches for a change of clothing and makes his way to a door, hoping that the door leads to a bathing room.

He stands in shock at the opulence of the bathroom, which turns out to be exactly what was behind the door. The crystal surfaces shine iridescent as the light hits the various surfaces. He places his clothes on the counter and walks to the shower stall, which is limestone and casts a varying shade of green into the crystal that surrounds it. As he bathes a small figure that he doesn't see or hear enters the bathroom and places several pots of scented soaps on a shelf within his reach as well as a towel on the counter for him to dry off with and a wash cloth for him to wash his body with.

When the majority of the filth is rinsed off Draven turns and looks in surprise at the various bathing utensils that have joined him in the bathroom. Looking out and seeing that there isn't anyone in the room with him, he shrugs and chooses a soap that smells like sandalwood and begins to bathe himself. When he gets done he dries himself off and scoffs in disgust as he sees that his hands had left blood and gore on the clean clothes he had brought with him. Exiting the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his hips, he is startled to see a small boy in the room putting clothes and books up on the shelves and in the armoire.

"Who are you and why are you in here?"

The small boy cowers fearfully as he edges his way back towards the door. "Nobody not do nothin' wrong. Jes followin' da Capin's orders ta make sure all new ones are cumfortatable." The small voice stutters as the boy then darts away from Draven and leaves quickly. Frowning at the way the young man seemed to fear him; Draven walks and sees the boy had put new clothes in to replace the ones Draven had taken out. He picks out a new outfit and quickly dresses himself. A knock sounds at the door and when he opens it he sees another woman standing in front of him. She's dressed in a tunic and pants that appear to be made out of dark brown leather and her hair is shoulder length and a light brown as well but with golden highlights. Her eyes however are covered, and tell-tell scars peek from the edges of the band. She looks up at him as if she can see him and steps back. "I'm here to take you to the mess hall since the Captain's Second failed to show you where everything is when you first boarded." As she walks away from him, Draven is left wondering if she is blind or merely wearing a covering to hide whatever scars that must be around her eyes as he follows her.

Upon entering the mess hall he sees that the room is much larger than what he would have thought when looking at the outside of the ship. There are four long tables that line the room, each table holds between 40-60 men. There appears to only be four seats that can be spared, and each one is at each table. The first table has a seat beside an old man who appears to be surrounded by other men who look to be over the age of 30 years old. The second table holds a seat beside a mid-twenty year old who dresses extremely feminine, the third table holds the kitchen crew and the fourth table appears to be where silence is golden and those who sit there mind their own business. Not feeling like sitting with the men that he had just worked with, Draven takes a seat at the far table beside a man of indeterminate age dressed in black.

Draven sits and a plate appears in front of him as well as a tankard. Seeing his startled expression the man chuckles as he pours Draven a drink from one of the pitchers. "Guess you wouldn't be used to whatever you need just appearing out of thin air now would you?" The pitch of the mans' voice is low, and it rumbles through Draven's bones causing him to feel like he has to catch his breath. He nods and watches as his favorite foods pile on his plate. "The sisters like to take care of the men who serve them. Dunno how they got their magic, but something awful had to have happened to them to cause them to cover up the way they do. They come from a different world entirely so maybe their coverings have meanings for where they come from." The man shrugs before standing to his feet. "The ship is a vigilante ship. The sisters hunt down evil-doers and punish them for their crimes. Don't know how they know how to find them, but they do seem to have a knack for finding the worse humanity has to offer. Even the worse that non-humans can produce, for all that, they've been sailing these oceans for about ten years now." With that the man walks off, leaving Draven to finish his meal. After Draven finishes eating, Twise walks up to him and tells him to go on to bed and not worry about helping in cleaning up the kitchen, which Draven does gratefully and falls asleep to the swaying of the ship.