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| - Once a proud and high-ranking soldier of the Stormwind SEALS, Dredd Blackurse was relieved from his position after he and his fellow crewmates had failed to defend an island from Horde invaders. Harboring a deep resentment for the Stormwind Government, he spent most of his time in a drunken haze with his eagle Dreadtalon in the pirate capital of Azeroth, Booty Bay. After months of bar fights and excruciating hangovers, Dredd began to miss the adventure and freedom of being out on the sea. Soon enough, the opportunity came around; an infamous ship known as The Screaming Knave came into port. The captain was seeking more crewmembers after a mojority of them had been slain in an intense naval battle with the Bloodsail Buccaneers. Blackurse was more than ready to join Captain Fredrick Grimeye and the rest of the crew aboard The Screaming Knave. However, Grimeye was a very cruel, cold-hearted individual, and would not let just anyone aboard his ship; so, he held "tryouts." He ordered that all who wanted to join him would commence a bloody brawl, and after five minutes, anyone left alive would be considered for his crew. Well, the brutality ensued, and after the longest five minutes of some of their lives, less than 10 men remained alive, one of them being Dredd. The walls of the tavern were painted red with blood and the moans of the dying lingered quietly in the room. One of the dying men crawled toward Captain Grimeye, reaching out a hand with a small smile as if to say, "I'm not dead yet, give me a chance!" Grimeye drew his cutlass and pointed it at the bloodied man, a wicked look in his eye. But before the captain could strike, a loud BANG echoed through the tavern, and the wounded pirate lied in a puddle of blood on the floor, a bullet hole in his hed. Grimeye peered around, looking for the one responsible, then his gaze fixed on Dredd, who had a flintlock pistol drawn and his eagle on his shoulder. Blackurse tossed the gun to the ground and eyed the captain. Grimeye approached him and grabbed Dredd by the collar of his shirt. A wicked grin slowly grew on Grimeye's face. "Ye have exactly what we be lookin' fer, me boy..." the captain said, releasing Blackurse from his grip. "What's yer name?" "Blackurse, Dredd Carden Blackurse, sir." "Blackurse, eh? A good name indeed. Accompany the crew back to the ship, ye're one of us now..." Dredd nodded but did not make a sound; he followed the crewmembers back to The Screaming Knave. The ship was huge; torn black sails blew in the wind as chains clattered against the hard wood panneling. Skulls of a variety of different races lined the edges of the ship, candles lit in the brain cavity of each. Blackurse studied the upper deck, and then the faces of his new crewmates. The crew was comprised of races from both the Horde and Alliance; humans, orcs, dwarves, trolls, nearly each of the faction's races were present. The captain returned to his ship accompanied by his first mate and three other men he had decided to take along. Grimeye was a very intimidating human; a long beard and tangled black hair went down to his chest. He had an ever-present look of evil in his eye, as did his crew. The captain ordered one of his crewmembers to take Blackurse below deck to his quarters, while he and his first mate proceeded to his quarters, where they began to chart a course. The next day, Captain Grimeye announce that they would be sailing north to the land of snow and ice, Northrend. Dredd was nothing more than a deckhand at the time, but every chance he got, he would show his cruelty and brutality to everyone aboard the ship, and quickly rose through the ranks. As The Screaming Knave neared the coast of Dragonblight, snow fog began to set in and thicken. An albatross flew just above the mast of the ship; some of the crewmembers said it was hailed in the titan's names, and hoped it was going to bring them good luck. As the ship sailed on into the cold, harsh north, the albatross followed on. Night approached and the fog grew thicker still; the captain ordered that they remain anchored until dawn. The albatross landed on the edge of the ship, studying the men aboard. The crew retired below deck, everyone except Blackurse who could not sleep. He stood on the bridge of the ship with Dreadtalon on his shoulder, looking out over the dark blue water. The albatross called out, and Dredd turned to look at the bird. He walked over to it, eyeing the albatross. The bird called out once more, and something in Dredd snapped, causing him to draw his sword and deliver a swift strike to the bird, knocking it onto the deck. At that very moment, two other crewmembers had just come on deck and witnessed what Blackurse had done. Unsure of what to do, Dredd's eyes dashed between the two men who drew their blades. They cursed him for killing the bird of good omen, and charged him. Dredd, however, was a much better swordsman than his assaulters, so he dispatched them quickly, tossing their corpses overboard. As the sun began to rise over the sea, the first mate came aboard to see the dead bird. He snarled and called everyone on deck. "My friends I stand before you t' tell a truth most dire..." The first mate held up the corpse of the albatross, "...There lurks a traitor in our mist. He 'as slain this bird of good omen, an' once the captain finds out, it will be sure to invoke his ire." Dredd remained calm, standing near the back of the crowd. He ran a hand over Dreadtalon's head, and the bird emitted a soft chirp. "He don't deserve no mercy... we ought to shoot him in th' head. But I am not an evil man, so first we'll have a little fun. However, the main order of business woul' be t' find who done the deed..." The crewmates peered at one another, each carefully looking over the others. One of the deckhands turned to Blackurse, his eyes panned down to his blood spattered pants. "H-hey! He's done it!" the crewman pointed at Dredd, who began to get red with rage. "Scurvy bastard!" Dredd grabbed the man's throat, choking the poor dog as other crewmen charged him. "Argh, so ye're th' one that's comitted this treacherous crime? Well, have we got a surprise for ye..." The first mate shoved Blackurse forward, several of the men restraining him. Dreadtalon attempted to fly away, but was captured as one man encased him in a large burlap sack. "No! Don't ye dare touch me bird!" The first mate cackled and turned away from Dredd; he looked back over his shoulder at him, "Tie that scoundrel to a rope and throw him overboard..." The crew did so, tying Dredd's arms together with heavy steel chains. They pushed him to the edge of the ship and several of the crewmen pointed their swords at him. "Aye! Keelhaul that filthy land-lubber, send 'im down to the depths below!" The first mate came up to Blackurse and put a bottle of rum in his hand and one of the crewmates sang out, "Make that bastard walk the plank wit' a bottle o' rum and a yo-ho-ho!" The first mate grinned wickedly and winked at Dredd, kicking him off the ship. He quickly sank into the freezing water, gasping for breath. He was dragged along the sea floor, jagged rocks and splintered wood tearing into his flesh. The crew above cheered and sang, looking over the edge of the ship trying to catch a glimpse of Dredd's punishment. The sack Dreadtalon was stuffed in was then hurled off the ship as well. A minute or so passed, and Blackurse had finally drowned. Then, the fog began to clear and the crew justified him, making themselves a part of the crime. Very soon, though, the albatross began with its vengeance; a terrible curse of thirst had begun. The merriment ceased and the crew began to panic over the next few hours. The captain had come on deck; he scorned and blamed the bad luck on the first mate. Around his neck the dead bird was hung. The captain ordered that he be hanged from the ship's mast, as a warning to all. Captain Grimeye had finally heard that the evil deed was actually the work of Blackurse; he had his corpse hauled on deck. As soon as the sea-soaked, ravaged body touched the deck, the ship stopped. It was as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. This was bad timing, as a storm had begun to gather in the north and it was moving toward the Screaming Knave. It neared the ship very quickly, and soon enough, the storm was right on top of it. Lightning cracked the sky and powerful winds blew violently on the sails. The captain and the remaining crewmates scrambled on the deck as cracks in the ship began to grow; each of them also sought a drink, as the albatross' curse began to intensify. There was water everywhere, yet not a drop to drink. After about an hour in the storm, the ship was tossed to the coast of Dragonblight, where it finally crashed on the starboard side into a large rock protruding from the water. Not a living thing was left aboard the wreckage of the ship, only the crew's corpses littered what was left of the deck. Months passed, and most of the corpses were washed from the deck; Dredd's was the only one lucky enough to wind up ashore. Some scourge marauders had come across Blackurse's body, and thrown it on the meatwagon. Upon returning with their finds to the Fleshwerks in Icecrown, a Val'kyr had risen Dredd as a Forsaken. He awoke and attempted to flee the Scourge hold. He hid and stole a sword from one of the undead guards. He fought as best he could through the Fleshwerks, finally reaching the outside. He slaughtered the weak and brittle undead that stood in his way, and headed north. He came across Death's Rise and convinced the death knights to spare a skeletal gryphon. He flew southeast, reaching the Howling Fjord in a couple of days. His gryphon was shot down by Vrykul and he landed roughly on the western shore. Dredd staggered along the shore and eventually discovered Scalawag Point. At first, he got along well with the other pirates, but after a few drinks and an exchange of not-so-nice words, Blackurse was forced to flee. Dredd ran down the sandy beach towards the pirates' ship, but something caught his eye; a large water-soaked sack lied half-buried in the sand. Dredd picked it out and continued on. He commandeered one of the pirates' smaller ships and killed those that attempted to stop him. As soon as he was out at see and lost sight of land, he turned his attention to the bag. He shook it, the contents were heavy and awkward. Dredd opened the bag, and out flew an angry undead eagle. The bird screeched and attempted to claw at Blackurse's face, but he just stood there. Dredd pulled a dead fish from a pouch on his belt and held it out for the bird; it eyed the food and slowly approached. Blackurse tossed the fish on the deck of the boat, the eagle beginning to eat it. Dredd realized the bird was Dreadtalon; he stepped toward the rotting eagle and it looked up at him curiously. Dredd ran a hand over Dreadtalon's head. The eagle called and took his rightful place on Blackurse's shoulder. Another day went by, another setting sun. As the light began to fade, Dredd stood silently on the bridge of the ship. He had gone below deck and found some charts, carefully mapping a new course. No wind blew the ship's tattered sails. Alone he sailed the endless sea; just him and his trusty bird. Blackurse began to think about his life aboard the Screaming Knave, and tryed to figure out why he had done his evil deed. The reason was lost in time; he could not recall. The hands of fate had slain the crew, his only real friends. He figured soon that same fate would come for him, as he had already cheated death once. He looked back and wondered about the few good times he and his former shipmates previously had. Dredd shook his head and the memories of they had done to him returned. His mood began to change; he snarled to himself and began to curse every last one of them. "I woulda' killed ev'ry last one o' 'em if I 'ah the chance..." Blackurse said to himself. He slowly walked to the bow of the ship, looking out over the water as the sun set. He began to count the hours until his fate would come. His life was abandoned to fate, with no chance of return. His anger slowly began to rise, and he roared out hate and lonliness. "Those days... were the bes' of my life, and those bastards took that away." He held the edge of the ship and tried to collect himself. "So, when they return from the dead, we will all meet again and fight 'till the true end of our days." Dredd cracked his neck and stroked his bird's wing, nodding with a wicked grin on his face. "We need a crew, Dreadtalon... At th' very least, a few men who'll work simply fer the thrill of piracy. And if we are t' get a crew, I'm goin'ta need to look like a true captain..." Blackurse went below deck and headed for the captain's quarters. He found a trunk full of tattered and stained pirate clothing. He found some thick leather boots with pockets for knives or pistols; he found some black cloth pants and gloves, both stained with spatters of blood. Also in the trunk, a grey leather belt with a rusted skull buckle and a tattered black cloth strip that hung down the back. Dredd's favorite article of clothing, however, was a bloodstained black leather jacket. The coat was fully loaded with flintlock pistols, knives, and grenados. Blackurse changed into these new clothes, and as be headed out of the room, he noticed a black captain's hat with a jolly roger crudely embroidered on one side. He grinned and put it on, adjusting his eyepatch. "Aye, now I look th' part..." Dredd went on deck and looked up to see Dreadtalon perched on the mast. He snickered quietly, and pulled out a tarnished silver spyglass. He peered through and saw the vague outline of land through the light fog. "Ya-ha-ha-hargh! Land-ho! The current did a mighty fine job o' leadin' us 'ere..." Dredd rushed to the bridge of the ship and steered toward the shore. The dark forest that overlooked the beach howled, but Blackurse remained unphased. Dredd sighed, "Ahh, I always get sea-legs when sightin' land..." He looked about the sandy shore and noticed murlocs; he shook his head and dropped anchor just off the coast of the forest. He and Dreadtalon got in a lifeboat and Dredd paddled for shore. As soon as they became within 25 meters of the beach, Blackurse pulled one of his pistols from his jacket, shooting into the air. The murlocs were startled and scattered into their dwellings. The lifeboat struck the land and Dredd and his eagle hopped out. (( Work in Progress ))
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)