Esmere Vallis
Known as Salt-Stung for the scars across her face, Esmere Vallis is one of the most vicious and resilient Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles. A former whaler turned pirate captain, Esmere is defined by raw survival instinct and brutal cunning. Where others ply charm or mysticism, Vallis wields brute force and fear, her hands calloused by rope, blood, and salt. Her fleet, The Brinewolves, are renowned for their swift hulls, harpoon weaponry, and ruthless boarding actions.
 |
2077 NC -
32 years old
Esmere Vallis, Captain of the Throatbreaker, Warcaptain of the Brinewolves, "Salt-Stung". Human Female.
Overview
Blunt and ferocious, Vallis commands through presence and pressure. She doesn't threaten—she demonstrates. She despises unnecessary speech, trusting only in deeds, blood, and discipline. Her crew reveres her as both executioner and savior, especially after she once sailed a broken raft for eleven days carrying three crew members on her back. Her hatred of Imperial naval officers is legendary, and she hangs their bones from her ship’s prow as warnings. Loyalty is everything to her, and she punishes betrayal by feeding offenders to the sharks while still alive.
Description
Tall, broad-shouldered, and perpetually wet with ocean spray, Esmere has the cracked lips and leathery skin of a woman who has spent too long at sea. Her face is crisscrossed with salt-burned scars, souvenirs from a desperate shipwreck survival, giving her a twisted, ever-wincing expression. Her voice is raspy, loud, and commands instant silence. She wears a patched sea-captain’s coat over rusting mail, with whale-bone toggles, barnacle-crusted boots, and a harpoon strapped to her back like a knight’s sword.
Background
Esmere began life as a whaler out of the ports of Marosh, where her family died on the same voyage that earned her the nickname Salt-Stung. Stranded in a reef during a storm, her ship shattered, and she alone dragged herself, screaming and blind, through barnacle caves until pirates found her. She seized control of her rescuers' vessel within a year, murdered the captain in front of his crew, and made them swear to her cause. From there, she built The Brinewolves, preying on merchant shipping, whalers, and even fellow pirates.
Religious Beliefs
It is generally believed that Esmere is a worshipper of Taltos Deepdweller, though if so, she is not particularly devout and never speaks of her faith.
