A/N: Mermaid Pirates, that's really all I need to say here.
@nwish425 and I talked things out, this is kind of going to be important later on. I genuinely suggest reading this.
Prelude To Vengeance
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Out of all Gods, Blackbeard is perhaps one of the more peculiar. Rumor has it Blackbeard went into the Realm of Water Itself and outright
claimed his divinity. Questioning a God is generally a bad idea, especially with Blackbeard.
Mortal or God, the man is famed more for his fear-inspiring cruelty than any notion he is kind & just. One would think such an individual would
never make it as a God, but even though most of his 'Followers' pay him lip service more than worship...
Not many other Gods would accept the likes of Pirates & Raiders, and then there are the greedy or stupid who seek Blackbeard's help with treasure over any other Deities.
Personally, he had little interest serving such a God in any way whatsoever, but unfortunately a God like Blackbeard tends to attract loyalty from those similar in nature.
He was but a boy, when the man claiming to be his father entered his life. Naturally, to his 'father' he was 'property' that didn't belong with his mother. Overall, he most
definitely does not prefer being a pirate vessel's cabin boy, not that he could actually
do anything to escape.
Despite his lot in life, he
still liked being alive- and any attempt at running away had good odds of ending
very poorly. Even if he
did manage, where would he go? If his 'father' was even
slightly intelligent, the man would likely investigate his hometown and... that was a good reason why he
shouldn't try running away.
This wasn't a fate he
wanted to accept, but unless something miraculous happens it was the one he was stuck with. He couldn't even
pray for salvation, that would of deeply offended the crew if they realized he was praying to someone other than Blackbeard.
Who would even care? Blackbeard was the only God anyone actually
talked about, because of
course this was a ship operated by true believers and not just men & women striking a deal. No doubt they spoke of things in secret, he was just a cabin boy- nobody important.
Yet despite that fact, when he heard someone calling out for help, he couldn't just pretend not to notice. Looking out in the distance, was a woman dressed in pirate-like garb.
She was half-submerged, and looked like she was struggling to stay afloat. She looks like a pirate, but that was no excuse to act like her life didn't matter. Pirate, sure, but
still.
He wasn't the only one to have noticed, but the others simply
watched- no doubt considering if it was even
worth helping someone. It was appalling, but he wasn't surprised either.
Running over to one of the lifeboats, his
intention was go rescue the woman- none of these
pirates were going to do it. Deep down, a part of him tried insisting it was a stupid idea, and that little part tried to get louder when one of the crewmen grabbed him by the wrist.
"Just what do you think you are doing boy?" He could do all sorts of things, like lie or be defiant, but being disobedient wasn't a good idea. Being insulting or anything of the sort wouldn't help, so...
"Going out to rescue our comrade before she drowns to death, sir." Eyes locked, as he looked up at the man and the man glared down at him, the crow's nest suddenly burst into noise.
"Not a woman, not a woman, we need to go
now!" He was confused by that statement, sure she was far away, but what would
possibly convince anyone she isn't a woman?
Before anyone could react in response to that claim, the ship
shuddered- the sound of sudden damage and leaking in water apparent. Where there was once confusion and emotional detachment, was chaos.
Whatever was going on, one thing was obvious- the ship was being torn apart and taking on water quickly. People were rushing for any means of escape, such as the lifeboat he meant to rescue the woman with.
Naturally, he was thrown to the side, and he wasn't the only one abandoned to die with the ship. Some of them were desperate enough to try jumping overboard regardless, but himself... he felt surprisingly calm.
Sure, he had no means of escape and was more likely to drown than reach any kind of land, even so... there was no point in trying to defy the inevitable.
The only thing left to do was watch the survivors... and his eyes widened, as familiar looking women grabbed onto the men, before pulling them underwater.
He had heard of creatures that lurked in water waiting to attack people, but he also thought those creatures were more on the instinctual side. It all feels too intelligent for mindless beasts, assuming it started with the drowning woman...
Was she just a distraction? If so, then that just convinces him this was planned and not simple animals lashing out violently. Not that his revelation matters now, the water had already watched his feet.
Closing his eyes and exhaling, he didn't want his last moments spent panicking- he'd rather think about home. He has regrets, but he wanted to be happy rather than afraid...
Intellectually, he could feel the water covering him, he tried to ignore it- so when he felt air on his face, he was
very confused. Opening his eyes to see the blue sky above him, he was still trying to process what was happening when a woman's voice spoke to him.
"Thanks, by the way. It would of worked regardless, who would actually believe 'intelligent sea monsters' are real? Still, it could of been more annoying."
Glancing from side to side, it took a few moments for it to actually
click. Doing his best to look behind him, it was the woman he saw from before. He had so many questions, yet the first to come to mind...
"What's your name?" The woman looked up at him with sea-blue eyes, smiling a little playfully. "Not the first time I had someone try to propose to me, but its Thetis."
He was
definitely too confused for such thoughts right now, though... he couldn't recall hearing about a Thetis. "Are... are you a God?" Thetis laughed good-naturedly, before responding.
"Sure would be convenient, maybe
finally that dirty thief would be gone for good. No, I serve Lord Triton, who serves Water himself. The girls and I do what we can, but there's not actually a lot of True Believers of that false God. Got anywhere particular you need to go?"
Things were still too strange, just a few moments ago he believed his death was imminent! "Why was I spared? I like being alive, but
still." In response she cocked an eyebrow in confusion, before a look of realization came over her.
"Right, right right right... You have no strong desire for treasure like most of the True Believers, so either you're not a pirate or don't have much loyalty to Blackbeard. We only take out the True Believers,
those can't be reasoned with and it'd hurt us more than him if we tried to take out everyone even slightly related."
He really didn't know much about anything when it came to Gods, but he supposes that makes sense- even despite how a lot of pirates can be seriously bad news, not many had a strong desire to obey a cruel & malicious God that demands payment before actually helping.
Just his luck to have gotten stuck with True Believers... "I just want to go home, I don't want to deal with
any of this anymore." Thetis grunted sympathetically, before finally replying. "Okay, mind if we stop by an island first to get our bearings?"
What island, he couldn't see- and rising from the water was a patch of sandy land, barren & wet like it only now came into existence. That... that
had to be divine work, for an island to appear from
nowhere...
"Yeah, not sure what I'll do about my clothes, but getting a moment to rest would be helpful." So much had happened today, and so quickly too. He really needed it all to set in, before doing anything else.
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A/N: So, yeah, I think it makes sense Blackbeard is more of a Quantity kind of Deity than Quality. It is already canon most pirates aren't really religious, and unlike Berstuk having a small 'Follower' base of murderous sociopaths there's a far wider range among Pirates/Raiders/Treasure Hunters that "Kill Them All" would make that inconvenient at best if not actively counter-productive.
I apologize for not coming up with a name for the PoV character, part of it was I had no good idea and part of it questioning if I needed to. There was a lot there I could of done, but I didn't want to do anything too complicated. Seems reasonable enough someone that believes in Blackbeard more than the regular 'Follower' would kidnap their own child.
Regarding Thetis... I learned that
Mermaimon is a thing, and was
immediately smitten with the idea of Mermaid Pirates. Well, Counter-Pirates, since she and the girls specifically target Blackbeard's True Believers exclusively. Why would they do that, you ask? Well, it all comes down to the fact Blackbeard is a filthy, no good thief that Triton & the Overdeity of Water both strongly hate for having straight up pillaged the Realm of Water.
Unfortunately, they're a bit
too specialized in Aquatic matters, so despite being Higher Rank they haven't actually been able to kill off Blackbeard themselves. But one day,
surely the ocean will finally have its vengeance, perhaps even brought about by someone Blackbeard personally wronged...
Right, Triton himself- just like The Reaper, he was a former Herald. Honestly, you'd think there'd be more signs of Overdeities still having a presence of sorts in the Mortal Realms. Regardless, basically Triton took up the mantle of Water God when the Boss Man achieved the Final Apotheosis. I would say he pretty much
inherited his Domains.
--
Name: Triton
Titles: King of Atlantis, The Sea's Lord, Herald of Water
Status: Greater God of Water
Followers: Sailors, Fishermen, Traders/Merchants, Oceanfolk, The Overdeity of Water's Followers
Pantheon: ??? (The Primal Elements, it seems reasonable the other Elemental Overdeities would have Heralds too personally overseeing the Mortal Realm)
Main: Water, Sea, Mermaids, Fish, Crustaceans, Islands, Cities
Subs: Fauna, Earthquakes, Ships, Journey, Treasure, Sediment
Once servant of the former Water God, Triton took over the role & responsibilities when his own Lord ascended to become one with Water itself. Much like his Lord, Triton's singular purpose in life is the wellbeing of the sea and all that dwell in it. For the most part, Triton is not a particularly active God- only acting when the sea, when
water, is harmed or endangered. Even then, only the greatest slights merit Triton's direct involvement.
--
"Why didn't the pirates know" you ask? I thought it was obvious. They
do know, but they're both True Believers of Blackbeard and given how
most of his 'Followers' aren't actually very religious...
It made sense that Blackbeard's True Believers are arrogant enough to genuinely think any other God is inferior, and that with the Holy Mermaids(?) typically not leaving survivors the best True Believers got are rumors of hyper-intelligent sea monsters. Combined, makes sense to me most of them would be dismissive that Blackbeard
isn't Lord of The Sea.
Also, kind of another reason why there aren't many True Believers- objectively, Blackbeard
isn't a good choice of God to serve, and most Sea-faring folk are more interested in
whatever they're doing that involves sea-faring. Nobody really
likes evil, so anyone smart enough / paranoid enough to figure out Blackbeard isn't an undisputed lord really aren't the type that be super serious about their worship.
Yes yes, you're probably wondering about Triton's Mermaids- they're pretty much Water Elementals, and also
very direct servants of Triton. You have far better chances of escaping one than actually winning a fight, what with being pretty much
Nigh-Invulnerable & usually dwelling in the one very specific thing that upgrades them to nigh-immortality.
Have
you tried fighting water? It doesn't really work. Granted, this is more specifically just Triton's Mermaids- honestly, I should probably call them something else, I figured Mermaids were just one of the forms they manifest in what with being Water Elementals. But Oceanfolk was too general and would have covered non-Elementals.
