FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Collected Resources on the Pirate Lafitte

Part 1

The pirate Lafitte's life began somewhat mysteriously. She does not like to talk about her distant past for reasons she can articulate only as annoyance but some can be pieced together from this bygone time. Her oddness among her fellows is no mere illusion.Her kind does not make its life among the civilized people of the world. A lizardfolk among men, even in a barbarous profession like piracy, is a very odd sight indeed and this among a profession that calls to the disenfranchised creatures who are rare and alone among the civilized nations. Even here she is a rare monster.

Lafitte was certainly born in the coastal or riverside swamps of south eastern Daolais, the wild and fragmented land between the Castellana mountains and the Quixote plains. The land is largely forested and once was a great and powerful nation but those times are long past, the lands either wild, blighted or feudal in this age. Fell creatures carve out evil domains far from the forces of established empires while the more ambitious of the normal races' leaders attempt to raise a nation from the fallen empire's ashes. Other communities try to eke by a living and other areas have fallen completely, left to the beasts and the monsters in overgrown ruins. It is in this last that Lafitte was born.

In the swamplands of Daolais there are several creatures that seek to make their home. Most of these are solitary, either simple animal monsters or antisocial creatures who desire no congregation. Of those races that seek community in the swamps some are more fell than others and it is lucky, perhaps, that the lizardfolk are the most successful. Some races are nicer, rare and branched breeds of Dunak or fishing settlements of men, but such are notoriously susceptible to the assaults of the truly foul monsters that build their civilizations in darkness, caves and grottos where they may scheme in secret. Compared to them the lizardfolk are merely dangerous, a race of animals given to animal ways but clever enough to be dealt with on some level by men.The lizardfolk may see men as a viable source of meat but so too do they see men as a viable source for trade and alliance, not seeking to do away with them.

Amongst these tribes one is born in a spawning pool with no direct familial connections, raised by the community. While their existence is not precisely survival of the fittest it is not easy and not all of the children will live. Rather than survival of the fittest it is survival for the people. They all must focus on helping their tribe rather than themselves. This is where Lafitte had trouble. While she was strong enough to survive she was driven by a rare sense of self-determination and individualism. While this is not unheard of among lizardfolk their survival is rare as the others will not trust them and the afflicted will not be driven to rely on their fellows, either.It is like sociopathy for a lizardfolk to think of itself on its own terms.

She has indicated that she was only about 5 or 6 when she abandoned her race. As they don't keep a close eye on time she is unsure. This is young but a lizardfolk is a fully functional member of its race at a very young age, there being precious little one must learn first, but she would still have been a tiny and weak thing at this age, much like a human child with a bit more experience than is usual for a human.She set off randomly into the wild, as it happened heading east, for reasons she does not specify. Was she cast out? Was she running from punishment? Had there been an altercation? Had she awoke one day and decided enough was enough? We will likely never know.

It is certain that she will not be seen there again. She refuses to go back and in the one case that she had no choice she hid in a ship's hold the entire time. Sadly, there is no way for an explorer to investigate themselves as her name is unknown. She was not known as Lafitte back then and she would sooner die than give out her old name. It is a mark of pride or shame to completely cut herself off from that old life and she seems to feel that her name would have an effect of binding her to that life.Even pushing her for it can lead to violence. Without the name it is impossible to hunt down a single lizardfolk of many years past.

In any case, she set off on her own. She was obviously not impressed with any human settlements she came across and the time she spent in travel is uncertain. She kept mainly to rivers for the trip but she circumnavigated the Castellana mountains in her trip, so it may have been some time. She survived this time by either hunting or thieving from the communities she did find and has retained a distaste for Castellana to this day which may be related to this time, though she's never seen fit to explain herself on this point. It is not hate, though, so it's likely borne merely of time seeing them as potential captors in her childhood.

Eventually the first confirmable date of Lafitte's life came to pass in the city of Tannen in Menschenreich, a port city of fair report near the border of the Castellana lands, drawing trade from other nations easily. She had evidently been in the city or at least its outskirts, for a fair amount of time before the date of 13thOwlsmoon, 235 when she was apprehended.She had made a living as a thief, originally in a den of her own finding and then later becoming involved with some city urchins who sought to exploit her naivety as a footpad in their service.While she was at first eager to work with others their attempt to use her led to the first signs of how dangerous she really was. She would not serve them and instead tricked them, leaving them to be captured as a diversion while she made off with a store of food meant for a trading ship. This would be a pattern for her: when someone thought to use her she would let them think she was but actively seek their downfall to her own advantage. As awful as it seems this is the closest to a moral one can see from her: those who would make her a servant to them or to a group should be punished.

As it happens, while her plan was working flawlessly, the ship's captain had noticed her as well and, rather than stopping her, was merely made curious by her. For all the races in the docks she was unusual, especially for her age. He followed her back to the urchin's hideout, now hers, and ambushed her there. From the cuts and bruises he returned with it may be surmised that she was not the least bit happy about being found but all the same he seemed to harbor no anger over it. He merely restrained her and returned to his ship with the food and the girl in tow.

While the urchins were simply arrested Lafitte was an interesting case. She was, in no way, a citizen or even a recognized race for the city.Certainly there were ways to handle this but there was discussion of just what to do with her. The Holy See would normally have dealt with the case, either determining her an evil race and executing her or a redeemable race and taking her in, but the region had little presence or influence from the Holy See, port towns having too much variety to support one religion, even the official one.

The captain determined to adopt Lafitte into his crew, having evidently become curious of the girl and wanting to make something of her. She was an able swimmer and took to teaching well and so she was a quick study to becoming a sailor. As a little girl she was something of a mascot to the ship but soon was an essential member of the crew.

As it happens this captain's name was Lafitte. As it also happens our girl did give a name, T'shaska, but research has indicated that this name is merely her people's word for themselves. As such she did not give a name at all. It would be like a human telling Castellana to call him "human".The captain, of course, determined to give her a more human name, especially as she showed no interest in her own false name, and he referred to her as Maria, a name more in line with their shared origin.

The astute will also notice that Lafitte is not a name of Menschenreich, despite him being a human.He was originally of a human settlement in Daolais and as such may well have known what Lafitte was and been all the more interested in her for their shared origin. He also would have understood the significance of her presence there more than anyone. In any case, Lafitte took Maria aboard his ship and she became a mariner. Thus closes the chapter of her childhood and prehistory. Past this point all is well documented and discusses a mature figure rather than one still developing.

We know a few things about Lafitte's life on this ship from statements collected from her. The ship was a sloop called the Seabream, a simple trader and possibly an occasional smuggler. The crew was a fairly regular mix of local species with none really interesting enough to single out. The human captain Lafitte was in his late thirties and his life had been mostly uneventful other than a few dead pirates to his name, his ship having been attacked more than once and having never lost. He had been a soldier when he was younger and clearly was rather good at it.

We know also that he began a sexual relationship with Lafitte. This may seem shocking, given her species and age, but on a ship this is more a matter of time. The proclivities of sailors off alone on the sea for long periods of time are well known, after all. Being a female was already a rarity, only a small percentage of sailors being women for a variety of reasons, but her youth made her a vulnerable target as well. It is unknown if it was only Lafitte who had relations with her but as an unofficial "cabin girl" (this not being a military ship, there being no real officer training) makes it more likely she was protected from others, but that's hardly a guarantee.

We also know, though, that Lafitte did not express any anger over this. The relationship was certainly not romantic and he did, otherwise, act as a surrogate father to her, and further she did not regret his loss at all, either. One must remember, though, that emotions are few to a lizardfolk and further she had no baseline of normality to compare any of this to. In fact, among her own people she would have been of breeding age already, anyway. None of this serves to justify the captain, though. If anything, it limited what feelings of affection the younger Lafitte could develop to the man who should have been her father but was instead nothing but a mentor. Who is to say how else she may have developed if he had expressed more love and less use?

In any case, about five years after joining the crew there was a mutiny. The ship was stormed upon, short on rations and transporting foods not in the rations. The captain did not want to betray their patrons if not necessary but the crew was growing restless with their shortened rations. It reached a point where they considered killing the captain and those who sided with him, even though it would mean going pirate as they'd all be criminals. Most interesting about this development is that Lafitte turned on the captain with no argument. Again, she expressed no hate toward him but he was no longer useful. No emotional attachment. One day being in his crew was what was best for her and the next day his death gave her a better option and she took it without a second thought.She herself murdered the captain in his cabin while he had no inkling of what was happening.

This is especially interesting in that she had often gone to great lengths to protect the man when the ship was under attack. She would even put herself under risk, though certainly not mortal danger, for his benefit.This was, in retrospect, not a selfless act, though. The fact is that while she cannot love she is given to liking people. She can prefer to have them around. Friendship, in short, but of a practical type. She seems to regard her friends as possessions and defends them as such. She simply doesn't want to not have them anymore but, notably, she would never honestly risk her life for another person. That would defeat the purpose of owning things.

The mutiny was a success.The cargo was eaten, the ship was re-christened the Pride, and Lafitte for the first time used her current name.The crew apparently had misgivings about this and believed she may have felt regret, or perhaps wanted to give the impression that she was the captain, but it seems in the long run that even though she did not care for the man in the way we would understand she did like him and was nostalgic about him. He was the closest to a father she had ever known and she honored that in her own way.She's even been known to say that she's glad some random person hadn't taken his life. She feels her killing him was a better death, almost romantic, though he'd likely disagree.

Lafitte also neglected to take command. Not out of failure, as she may well not have been strong enough, but out of choice.This has become a tradition to her.She does not like to lead but she does want a position of power. She does not seem to trust being in charge, though. She seems to assume everyone else is just as willing as her to turn on their captain and so does not want to be the target of mutiny. This is not to imply that she is one quick to mutiny, being that she does not seek to take anyone's captaincy, but she is not against it either.

The Seventeen years since has shown Lafitte to be an unusually successful pirate. She has both refused to retire with her riches and refused to die in that time. She has been involved in several mutinies, countless assaults, dozens of scuffles with naval powers, traveled through every known nation and become a powerful backing figure of Shalaka's pirate empire based out of Granuaile island, the most powerful pirate navy ever forged, strong enough to defeat every navy to have attacked the island. The relationship between the two is unknown, though with Shalaka herself being of a reptilian, though different, race there have been suspicions raised that they are significantly in league rather than a mere working relationship.

There is another blank spot in her history, too. At some point in her piracy Lafitte found something. It seems she ran across a lost temple of sorts to the ancient sea goddess Korlea, worshipped by some of the more vicious island peoples of the area.Ancient wars largely decimated the more established followings of the decidedly evil goddess, responsible for sea-borne disasters. Lafitte entered this sunken temple searching for treasure but she emerged alone with but one trinket: a ring. The ring exhibits great powers, all water related, and has become a defining feature for her. She has shown no outward features of actual worship of Korlea but, one must note, that violent acts of piracy are themselves under Korlea's representation according to worshippers.

These documents show the extent of what is known of Lafitte's past, compiled for the purposes of understanding an enemy of the state.

Part 2

It has been some two score years since the last officiated document of the pirate Lafitte was put to paper by the Holy See. Usually, there is little need to update these records. Criminals of such a conventional sort such as pirate rarely last long enough or develop significantly to require further mediation.Entities of such power that they do not simply die or retire are not recorded here and, even more so, do not tend to change significantly over time. This has not proven true for Lafitte.

There is, naturally, a second reason for the lapse in records in regards to Lafitte. For some time after the fall of the dead god it was felt to be wrong to speak of one of the pinnacle assets in said god's downfall as a criminal. However, in the nearly two decades since that event she has not reformed and good will can only stretch so far. It is necessary that the Holy See and the governments of the world again hunt this rover.

Luckily, her celebrity has limited the amount of blood she has spilled. Few crews will depose her and many of her victims even brag when she robs their cargo, turning it into quick advertising money. Some have responded to her robberies by simply offering her more goods but she is scornful of this; she wants to be a pirate.They allowed her to play her game while letting her have what she wanted but this gnawed at her and she soon stepped up her viciousness, bringing back the fear she used to command by killing even when surrender was given. After some time of this appalling behavior enough was enough.

There may be a third excuse for our laxness on Lafitte, too. With her now heroic status and the seeming war she was holding against her once ally, now undead opponent Shalaka we had hoped to turn her to a pirate hunter.Many veteran pirates take this path when they see the inevitable end of their lives approaching and she seemed to be moving in this direction. Sadly, her feud with Shalaka is not one of justice at all but a personal feud.

This is not about the fall of the dead god or its aftermath, though, and so we should move on. This does relate to the discovery of the strange new continent, however, and so a brief is in order.

The new continent remains mysterious, especially as it is inaccessible by any of the magical means such long distance travel or communication would normally be achieved.Travel is long and colonization is difficult. The natives are not as weak as thought at first and they are largely unhappy with the intrusion of other governments, though not always of individuals. Oddly, this has made pirates more successful than nations in establishing themselves in this new world.

The people of this new world are, to a person, some form of animal crossed with a man. This is, of course, already familiar in the form of monsters. They appear to be different from this, however, but this is no area on which I am an expert. Suffice it to say for now that no race of monsters has accomplished the sort of society these people, termed collectively as "the Chosen", have managed.This may be explained handily by the presence of their living gods, though.

The new world is important here both because of the aid Lafitte has found among their pirates and privateers, and for the origin of her son. The child, of course, is not really hers. She encountered, while at port, an orphan child and made an uncharacteristic decision. She decided to take them on. Not merely as a member of her crew but to raise them with the goal of the child eventually replacing her, the way she replaced her own adoptive father. While such an act of charity is bizarre from Lafitte it is not altogether without reason. She is getting rather old. While age is less important to lizardfolk than humans she still must realize her age is climbing and her luck may be running out. For the same reasons a sane person would want a child she desires an heir.This is, of course, purely speculation.

The child in question was named Mikhu, though he is often referred to as Lafitte the Younger while he is still in training. He was around six to eight when adopted and now is a young man. In appearance he seems to be a squirrel with black fur.He is, reportedly, a bit fat.Lafitte's success and hedonism has clearly rubbed off on the boy and allowed him to let himself go. He is still, by all accounts, ruthless and dangerous, though. His portliness belies a worthy adversary.

Mikhu has not done particularly much in his life to draw great attention. He has taken part in boarding actions and raids but he has not performed astonishing feats during them, at least not that we have reports of.He does not seem to be nearly as cold hearted as Lafitte but it does seem he wants to be and pushes himself to be a worse person than he is, at times, and has committed plenty of atrocities.Like most criminals he attempts to justify these by casting blame toward countries, business and such for greater crimes he is punishing them for. He is flamboyant and effeminate, an affectation that would surely have been quite a problem for him were not Lafitte protecting him from the other freebooters.

He appears to be a true hedonist, beyond his portliness, as well. Reports suggest that he and Lafitte may have a sexual relationship and it has been reported that he has engaged in sexual activity with men, woman, a number of races, and some worse things as well. He seems to not so much have a sexual preference as an attraction to novelty and uniqueness. With tales and insults working as they do we cannot really know what is true; reports of bestiality, murdering partners, sex with monsters and children, there is simply no way to know which are true and which are not. It is merely certain that he is a pervert. Were there not truth beneath these rumors the rumors would not spring up at all.

Within a few years of Mikhu's adoption Lafitte acquired another notable crew member: Molly. In the case of Molly we have a few more specifics and a good deal more that is unknown. The girl seems to have been sold as a slave. She was an infant when sold and so is several years Mikhu's junior but still by far the closest person to his age aboard Lafitte's ship. She is an odd creature, like a man but similar to an animal in some ways. Reports from sailors identify her with a monkey, though that creature is a far off animal from distant lands, sometimes carried in trade but few have ever seen one at all. As such, I cannot say.

It appears that Lafitte had once seen a monkey at port and was absolutely fascinated by it. She harbored a desire for a monkey pet for ages but apparently just never ran into one, nor had any reason to travel to where they live; such a trip is costly, dangerous and wasteful. It was always just a childish dream she kept secret.When she found the infant monkey like creature for sale she couldn't pass up the opportunity and purchased it.She must have realized at the time that it was a sentient creature but, all the same, she kept it as a pet. This may not be too bad a thing, though; reports are that the girl was meant for a sex slave.

As the pet, named Molly, grew she began to show her intelligence quickly. Lafitte apparently still thought of her as a very smart pet and raised her based on the sort of system of rewards and punishments that one would use with a pet. The girl grew to be faithful and obedient but lacked the personal determination to escape or determine her own path. She even wore a collar that she never removes. This continued even after she began acting as a raider along with the regular crew; the idea that a real person could not be a pet animal just doesn't make sense to Lafitte.

Molly, by some reports, also seems to be not precisely a girl. Again, these may be insults. She has been reported to be a crossdresser and also a hermaphrodite. Reports have also indicated that her race is one of the far east, mentioned in the oft doubted reports of ancient explorers. In particularly, one of these explorers mentioned a race of mountain forest dwellers whom had three different genders, one being part man and part woman. There is little more information to go on but this may contain the secret answer to this particular riddle.

As for Mikhu, Molly was his only real friend as he grew up. Younger than him but close enough to still be children together. He certainly developed a close bond with her and, while he definitely sees her as a sister, he has also begun a sexual relationship with her. He still reportedly practices his various other perversions as well but the two seem to have an actual relationship. This is all the more odd in that Lafitte seems to have passed either full or partial ownership of her to Mikhu and he does, in fact, often treat her as a pet.Being him, it is plausible that he treats her as a sister, lover and pet all at the same time.

As Lafitte has grown her ship into a fleet, and in that she seems to be establishing her own pirate empire to rival Shalaka's, it is important to keep an eye on these two as they will likely be the future leaders of this band that we must be aware of.Currently, both work as topsmen aboard Lafitte''s ship and both have proven to be able combatants. Neither has shown any magical affinity but this cannot be certain.

Returning to Lafitte, her colony of Barataria, popularly called Libertalia by pirates, has become a powerful local. As of this writing it is suggested that, for the time being, this colony not be assaulted as it is being built to combat Shalaka's own island fortress. Of course, after this is accomplished the island will merely be a pirate nation and should be treated as such. It is only an ally of convenience. Lafitte operates the island in loose form, providing a safe port for any pirates to land, and in turn all there are to pay a small part of their hold to the island's upkeep and to defend the island from attack. The primary crime is to deal with Shalaka. How this gambit will work out is a mystery; Shalaka, since becoming a lich, has raised massive crews of undead pirates but has also remained an ally to any living pirates willing fight for her. Between those still in need or her safe port and the massive hoards of undead under her command she is in no way vulnerable.

This is the extent of new knowledge on the pirate Lafitte's history of criminal activity.